Run away
by Der schwarze Prinz
Summary: Jake Baker doesn t endure it anymore. Feeling lost at home, he decides to run away. This is my first fanfic, I hope you enjoy. I know my grammer is not so well.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Cheaper by the dozen.

**Prologue**

The last warm rays of sunlight disappeared at the horizon, when Jake made his way home.

He froze. He stopped undecided and watched the white house in front of him.

A lump formed in his throat when he thought for how long he was gone.

If he was honest, he didn´t know. It could have been weeks or month, even years.

Sure that it was Christmas, seeing the red, green and white decoration on each house.

He looked to the ground.

He was a coward, because he came back. He didn´t made what he wanted to reach.

But if he would leave now, he would be much cowardly.

Slowly his look raised up to the house.

His father made sure that the decoration looked wonderful. Charlie had cut the grass and his mother had hang up the self-made angels Jake and his siblings made when they were younger.

"I have been a coward since I ran away", Jake sighed when he made up his way towards the house.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks to **Donny304 **for reviewing this story. **_

**1. Chapter **

"Everyone in the living room. Family meeting. Now!" The voice of Tom Baker reverberated through the house.

Jake Baker, sixth child of twelve rolled his eyes. He hated family meetings. Every time they had, there came out a terrible change, like moving to a complete different town.

When he reached the living room, all this siblings that lived at home, were collected like little puppies on the couches. He sighed.

"Hope it will be over soon", he thought.

"So", his dad started. "I have a good news for you. I think you will enjoy. The Murtaughs are moving to this town. Just a few houses down the street!"

"Really?!", Sarah asked.

Tom nodded. Jake frowned. He didn´t know what to think about that.

All in all, Elliot was a good friend of him. His best, if he was honest. But he didn´t want to see him smooch with his sister Sarah all the time. And all Jake could say was, that they had totally fallen in love with each other the last time they met, on the summer holidays at the lake.

"Isn´t that brilliant?", Sarah asked him and Mike, when they went out of the living room.

"Sure", Mike smiled.

"Yes", Jake said, but didn´t mean it. He wanted to go to his room. He had homework to do, not that he would like to do, he hated, but he just get through the eight class with a lot of luck and his father threatened him to close his skateboard in the closer if it he would not do anything for getting better grades.

"I mean: Elliot is moving here." Sarah became a little bit red.

"Yes", Jake answered. Thinking about, it would be great. He would introduce Elliott to his friends and they would like him. Sure they would. They all loved skate boarding.

"We should think for a surprise for him", Sarah said.

"Why?", Jake asked.

"Because it would be nice."

"You sound like mom", Jake snapped. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"I have to do my homework, if I don´t dad will kill me, or my teacher does", Jake said and went to his room.

"You´ve grown boring!"

"Jake, wait a moment." Jake heared his father Tom´s voice.

"Yeah?"

"So, tomorrow the new football coach is looking for the new players, isn´t he?"

"Yes."

"So you try it out, won´t you?"

"Think so."

"Jake, you´ve been the best player, the best quarterback in your old team. You already could beat Charlie."

"I know, and I love football, but..."

"So you´re trying out. Great. The coach will see, you´re brilliant. I´m very proud of you. Every Baker boy plays football in high school."

Jake liked football. But he liked baseball much more. But he couldn´t disappoint his father.

Jake sat on his bed, starring at the maths book. He hated algebra. Just letters and numbers and his head went dizzy.

"Who needs that!", he grumbled.

"Everyone, it´s universal education."

Jake looked up and saw Jessica stand in the door. "Great", he said, "everyone has an interesting stupid thought of universal education."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Shall I help you?", she asked than.

"No thanks", he snapped.

"You´ve grown up an asshole", Jessica said and went. Jake sighed. Pretty well done, he thought.

So today he was a boring asshole. Maybe tomorrow he would be a foolish wimp.

He gazed at his maths book without reading.

School was, like every day, like running the gauntlet.

His maths teacher, the terrible Mr. Pork, called him stupid, because he couldn´t find the answer for

a, like his teacher called it, easy exercise, every kindergarten kid could solve.

While lunch time, Jake ran into Greg Stunner, the school bully, who gazed at him pretty scary.

"Wanna feel my fists?", Greg screamed and pushed him to the ground.

After that, Jake had a lovely art lesson, where his teacher laughed when he saw Jakes drawing.

Jake knew he wasn´t good at arts but laughing was to much, he thought.

Pretty well he was happy, that today the new coach of the American Football team had set on an audience.

He wanted to watch out the players of his team.

In middle school, Jake has been the best Quarterback. Also he was small for his age, he had a lot of strengths. He was very fast and had a great view for tactics.

Henry, Jakes older brother, was already in the team.

Playing in the football team of Highschool was a must for every Baker boy, having a father who was a football couch.

Jake stood next to a boy with long blond hair. He had to swallow, when he recognized Greg Stunner standing with the group of players, who were already in the team, because they were in it before summer.

"So", the coach told them. "Having wimps on my team, is unacceptable. If you want to be a part of this team, you have to show your strength."

With that, he went through the line of new pupils who wanted to be in the team.

"Go there", he told the first boy, pointing at the line.

"You too", he told the next one.

"What´s that?", he asked when he came to the next boy. "Do you think I wanna have pusher in my team?" With those words he pointed at the glasses of the boy. "No way, man. Go out of my eyes."

"But...", the boy wanted to say.

"You can go." The coach pointed at the next player.

"You too, and you." Than he stood still.

"Are you kidding me?", he called. "You are a girl."

"I´m pretty good", the girl said. Jake knew her voice. She was in his old football team. Her name was Nancy Summer, the reason why Jake stopped calling Sarah a tomboy.

Nancy was big and scary. Next to her, Tom Baker looked like an old woman.

"I don´t wanna have girls being a part of my team. This is a boy football team. Go to the cheerleaders."

"I wanna play football. I´m really good in it." That´s true, Jake thought. She has been the best next to him, in the old team. But he has to say, they didn´t really talk to each other.

"Are you stupid or so? I said I don´t wanna girls."

"Where should I go? There is no team for girls at this school."

"That´s not my problem. But if you´re in my team and have your PMS, it is. So went out of my eyes." With that words he went to the next boy. That´s not fair, Jake thought. Otherwise, he never heared of a girl in a highschool football team.

"You´re a part", the couch said to the next boy.

"What´s that?", the coach said when he stand in the front of the boy next to Jake.

The boy with the long blond hairs.

"What´s what ?"

"This haircut. I don´t have hippies in my team, you know?"

"I don´t have cut it down", the boy explained.

"Than you´re not a part of this team", the couch answered and went over to Jake and looked at him.

And than, he started to laugh.

"Are you kidding me?", the man gasped between laughing. "How tall are you? One fifty?"

"One seventy, Sir"*, Jake answered honestly.

"So you think, I would like to have such a wimp on my team?"

"I´m not a wimp, on my old team I was the best player. Let me show you my strengths."

Jake couldn´t believe he should not be able to play football.

His father would be more than disappointed. His father the football coach.

"You´re not a part of it."

"But..."

But the coach had been walking away.

*(_When it´s said that Jake is one seventy that means he is one meter and seventy centimeters, because I don´t know what it is in feet )_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing._

_What terms were confusing? Perhaps I can explain. And thanks to correct me with the team thing, I will change this. _

_And, yes I thought that a pusher, but I can be wrong, is someone who learns all the time for school, so it has nothing to do with American Football. The coach just thinks this boy is such a person and don´t want him to play for his team. _

**I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

_**Chapter**_

Jake became angry. "Son of a bitch", he mumble.

Running towards the grass, he grabbed his bag and didn´t know how he should tell his father, that he wasn´t a part of the team.

"Jake?" Damn, that was Sarah´s voice, she had her cheerleader practise today.

"What?", he said .

"Where are you going? I thought you try out for the football team."

"That´s what you thought." He didn´t want to talk now.

Sarah looked pissed. "What´s wrong with you the last time. You´re acting terrible."

"I just wanna be on my own."

Sarah rolled her eyes and hit him. "Now tell me what´s wrong."

"I don´t think, you wanna listen, you better have your practise and after that calling your nice guy Elliott"

"You´re so foolish, Jake, you know?", Sarah screamed.

Jake bit on his lips. "Piss off", he mumbled.

Than he went.

His prognosis actually became true. Today he was a foolish wimp.

Jake starred at his spaghetti without being hungry. Thankfully his dad had not already ask how he made up at school and football.

Henry would have told him, and Jake would be the looser of the family.

"Don´t you feel good, Jake?", his mother asked.

Jake looked up. "I just don´t feel hungry."

"But everything is alright, darling?" Why his mother asked so much about him? All the other days she is more interested in all his siblings and the only moment he won´t her being interested, she is.

"I´m fine." He sighed.

"Can I stand up?" She nodded and Jake put his food into the trash. Hope, that was all, he thought.

But of cause it wasn´t.

His father had come over him and looked in his eyes. Of cause, Jake couldn´t stand this and his view went to the counter.

"So, how was school? The coach looked for the new players, didn´t he?", his father asked.

"He did", Jake mumbled.

"So how was training?"

"Don´t know", Jake mumbled more softly.

"Jake?! Don´t tell me you didn´t try out for the team", his father said uncomprehendingly.

"I wanted to", said Jake, hoping it was soft enough so that his father didn´t understand.

"But?"

"Nothing."

"Jake! You´ve been the best player in Middle School. Come on, which position did you get, wanna be modest, hmm?"

Suddenly, Jake exploded. "He didn´t let me try out. He looked at me and decided that I will not be a part of the team. And it´s alright, ´cause definitly everybody knows that I am to small for football!"

Fighting to get control over his anger, Jake went fast out of the kitchen, hoping nobody would get after him and ran out in the garden.

Standing on the grass, Jake saw his baseball lying next to him.

He took it into his hand and threw it powerfully through the air. That was what he should do.

Also he always has been a good footballer, he liked baseball much more.

But every Baker boy played football in High School and also, the school didn´t have a baseball team.

"Jake?"

It was his father´s voice. He didn´t want to talk to him.

Jake had seen in Tom´s eyes, when he was told, that his third son wasn´t a part of the American Football team, how disappointed he was.

Suddenly the man stood next to him.

"Jake, look, I..."

"I am too small. That´s it, but it´s okay Dad", Jake turned to see in his father´s eyes. "Look, in Junior High I was one of the best. But that´s High School Dad. The boys are much taller than me. If..."

Jake sighed, what he was saying next was new for him, too, but he knew that it was true.

"Also if I would be in the team, they all would push me to the ground with one hit."

"You´re giving up? A Baker´s never giving up."

"I´m sorry for not being the son of your dreams. I´m sorry for being to small, for being not the captain of the football team, Dad. I´m sorry that I am not Charlie or Henry.

I am I. And I know that´s not good enough for you."

Tears rose in his eyes when he said those words. It was the first time, Jake thought that, but he knew it was true.

He ran into the house, not noticing his father calling him back.

He ran into his room, wiping the tears from his eyes and laid down on his back.

Fuck, he hated his life.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to Donny304 for reviewing. I know that this coach is a jerk, I wanted him to be. It´s a little bit stupid what this coach did, but I had it in my mind before. _

**Chapter**

Jake looked out of his window, seeing the truck of the Murtaughs driving down the street.

"I´ll greet Elliot", Jake thought. "Perhaps we can skateboard a little bit."

Skateboarding would calm him down. It was the greatest thing in the world.

He took his board and ran downstairs. The house seemed to be empty.

"Fine", he thought, "family already forgot to tell me to come with them to greet the Murtaughs."

_________________

He walked down the street and entered the garden of the new Murtaugh house.

His parents and Jimmy and Sarina Murtaugh stood in front of the conservatory and talked to each other. They didn´t realize Jake walking in.

Jake found Elliot sitting next to Sarah on the stairs.

"Hey old man", he called him.

Elliot looked up and smiled. "Jake, I already wondered where you were."

"At home", Jake answered, giving Sarah a dead look. Than he looked at Eliot again.

"Do you like it here?"

Eliot smiled. "How shall I knew man. I´m living here for an hour."

"I hate it", Jake sighed.

"Just ´cause you´re to stupid to find nice friends. Everyone you can call your friend is this freak Garrett and this dump Raphael", Sarah said.

"Don´t call them like that Sarah, they are better friends like this tinker like girl Amber and this Sue-Person."

"Stop Jake, yeah, just because your´re mad at the coach, don´t be mad at me."

"He, guys, stop that, yeah?", Elliot looked confused and worried.

"Yes, come on, shall I show you the skate park?", Jake asked Elliot.

"Oh, Sarah just wanted to show it to me. We wanted to go there and, well, talk", Elliot mentioned.

Sarah smiled. "Yes, we wanted do have some time for us." Her smile went away. "Alone."

She took Elliot´s hand ans went away.

Jake was left alone.

"Great", he thought, "thinking the day could just be better, it became much worse. Damn Sarah. What´s wrong with her. She doesn´t own Elliot."

Jake sighed, than he saw Mark and Kenneth sitting at the hedge. He could go and hang out with them. Since Mark ran away and was found than, they understood each other much better.

"Hey Kenneth", Jake said.

"Oh, hi Jake." They were talking about the new video game, and Jake knew that wasn´t his world. He exactly didn´t knew his family own a Playstation.

He bit on his lips and sat down next to Mark, trying to concentrate on the conversation of the two younger boys.

But soon he found himself in a dozy state, not really thinking, not really listening to anyone.

________________________________

"Hey Jake, wake up."

His father looked into his eyes. "Don´t dream away. We´re going home."

Jake nodded and stood up. His legs were asleep and that made it hard for him to walk.

"Where is Sarah?", he asked his Dad.

"She´s still at the skate park with Elliot I think", his father answered and went over to say goodbye to Jimmy Murtaugh.

Jake sighed and made his walk up the street to their house.

His mother and his young twin brothers were already there.

"Why aren´t you with Sarah and Elliot?", she asked when he came through the door.

"Don´t know."

"Than wash the vegetables. Lorraine is coming from New York. I think she will have a lot to tell."

Great. So he had an boring afternoon, also one of his best friends move next to him, and after all, the evening would be the same.

"And don´t roll your eyes. Have you done your homework."

"Sure."

"What was it?"

"Maths." He didn´t want to tell his mother that he did not understand anything.

"Jessica told me, you got angry yesterday while doing maths."

This girl would have to listen to him after dinner.

"Just because Jessica loves maths, it doesn´t mean everyone does. A lot of people become angry when they have to do maths."

"I won´t put you under pressure Jake, but you have to work seriously if you won´t miss the class."

"I do", Jake said, also he wasn´t sure of that.

The conversation was over. Dinner was ready. The bell rang.

_______________________________

Lorraine wore a new dress. That was, what she told them, but who else would recognize this?

She spoke about New York, nice city, but Jake would like New York to be a city on the moon is this moment.

Sarah wasn´t home already, sure she was with Elliot all the time, which Jake didn´t like.

After dinner Jake asked Mike if he wanted to play hockey.

"Always playing hockey. You´re boring, look for something else", was the answer.

"Since when you don´t like hockey?"

"I like it but always doing the same is boring. See Jake, you always wanna play hockey or skate. That´s boring. What about try something else, hang from the chandelier, for example, like dad did?

That was cool."

"It felt down. I think I´m too weird, like dad", Jake answered.

"Scared pussy."

With those words, Mike went over.

So Mike didn´t want to hang out with him, too. Nice.

Great, Jake thought, now I´m a scared pussy.

____________________________________

Next day was Saturday and Jake invited Garrett and Raphael to meet Elliot.

Garrett was blond and small, while Raphael had dark hair and was a head taller than Jake. What was not really difficult.

Jake told them to bring their boards, but when Elliott and he waited for the two guys, Elliot told him, that he wasn´t in the mood to skate.

So when Garrett and Raphael came over, they were a little bit angry.

"You know I don´t like to carry the board without needing it", Raphael said.

"Shut up."

"Don´t be rude, dude"

Elliot and the others liked each other very well.

"So what we´re going to do?"

So Garrett switched on the TV and they watched stupid things.

Elliot told them how Jake felt down while water skiing at the lake. The boys laughed a lot, except for Jake, who was thinking, that it would be a long day.

After a while, they talked about girls.

"So you and Sarah, huh?", Raphael said to Elliot.

"I think so."

"Have you kissed each other?"

"Sure."

Jake swallowed in his Coke. Elliot and Sarah had kissed each other? She was his sister!

"She´s really hot, you´re so lucky man", Raphael said.

"You´re talking about my sister", Jake cried.

"Come on, Jakey, just enjoy."

"Enjoy what? That you all are after Sarah? No, thanks. She is a tomboy, man. And my sister. Look after what you do or I become uncomfortable."

"You´re living in a dream Jake, she´s grown up. She is almost a woman yet", Raphael said.

"He look, there she comes!", Garrett cried.

And Sarah came into the room, wearing a really hot shirt.

"So boys, what are you doing?", she asked and sat down on the couch between Elliot and Jake.

"Talking", Elliot answered with a dirty smile.

_________________________

The evening didn´t run. It went slowly, so slowly that Jake thought the time would stand still.

Everybody enjoyed, except for him. He felt like the fifth wheel on the wagon.

It seemed as if Elliot just has been friend with Raphael and Garrett for years, and Sarah laid on his lap, laughing.

The funniest things they laughed about were Jakes Skateboard accidents. As for well, Jake hated to be reminded that he had those, and also, he didn´t thought it was funny, when he got a skull fracture.

"So Jakey, what about having fun with your camera?"

"Oh no, Sarah, you´ve broken my old one."

"Come on Jake, don´t be a spoilsport."

"I´m not being a spoilsport, I just won´t give my camera to you."

Raphael sighed. "Man, you´re acting like a little child, come on, bring it down."

"Just accept I don´t want to, yeah?"

Sarah lost her patience. "Jake, just because you had a horrible week and just because you don´t have to treat everybody like it´s his fault."

"You know what? If I´m the one who slows down the fun, I think it´s better if I´m going, isn´t it?"  
Jake didn´t want to hang out with them any more. The best thing he could do, was just fall asleep and wake up on a better day.

"Sure it is", Sarah said when he left.

__________________________

Jake ran up to his room and closed the door. He needed music.

He pulled up Blink 182 as loud as possible so could feel the basses vibrate under his feet.

He calmed down a little.

But just until Jessica, Kim and Henry stepped into his room.

"Boah, Jake, regulate the volume, it´s horrible."

"Shut your ears."

Henry went to the music box and turned it down.

"Doesn´t it get threw your mind that you get on everybody´s nevers, Jake?", he said. "No one likes to be with you anymore."

"Better learn for school, or you´re staying as stupid as you are", Jessica told him.

"I can not realize that your are my relative", Kim said.

"So don´t believe I am", Jake screamed and pushed them all out off his room.

He shook. What had he done, that they were like this?

Jake pushed himself down on his bed and bit on his lips. Great. They hated him.

He asked why it took him so long to realize.

Than he calmed down a little. Sure they just had a bad day, like him.

It knocked.

"Yeah?"

His father entered the room, staying in the door, watching his son with disappointed eyes.

Kate was after him, not smiling like she did when she came to Charlie, saying him that he should try out college, also he wanted to build up a garage.

"We have to talk to you."

"Great", Jake said sarcastic.

_Yeah, perhaps Jake takes it all a little to hard, but I really didn´t know how to write it all. I mean I had it all in my head, but it didn´t really want to be written. _


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to Donny304 for reviewing. _

_Here is the next chapter. _

_4. Chapter_

Jakes parents entered the room, closed the door, but didn´t sit down like they usual did, when they wanted to talk to him.

"Look, Jake, your mother and me were talking about the football team."

"I think we talked about school in general", his mother added.

"So, you do?"

"And we think, that you could try out harder. I mean, you don´t reach anything."

"Try out harder? What do you think I´m doing the whole day? I´m learning for school hours and hours and hours. I did football training the whole summer holidays. I am trying out very hard!"

"Jake, don´t act like a little child, there has to be a reason why you didn´t reach."

"I know that there has to be a reason. I already know the reason. I´m not as smart as the others and I am a wimp! That´s it. Accept me like that or don´t. I can not do anything else."

"Jake", his father groaned, "you´re talking like a wimp, that´s right. You´re talking like a looser. Bakers aren´t loosers. You see. Take it like a man."

"I´m not a man dad. I am fifteen years old." Why his parents didn´t accept?

"Jake, I don´t accept you miss the class. You´re smart", his mother said. "I want you to hang in it."

"Whatever."

"Don´t talk to your mother like this", Tom shouted. "You´re grounded as long as you´re acting like this. Also I think I understand the football coach. You´re a coward."

With those words, Tom and Kate left.

Jake bit his pillow.

He couldn´t understand what he´s done wrong.

He started to doubt if he could take it all. Did his father really think he was a coward?

Sure he did.

Great, he thought, I´m a total looser.

"Hey Jake, wanna play hockey?

Mike stood in his room as suddenly as if he appeared out of nothing.

Jake didn´t was in the mood for hockey.

"No", he answered angry.

"I hate you!", Mike screamed and boxed his arm. Than he ran out and shut the door.

Jake started to cry.

Night covered the city. The Bakers, except for one, were all asleep.

Jake Baker laid still on his bed, his eyes white open, starring in the dark.

He still heard Mikes voice in his head. "I hate you."

How could it be, that those three little words hurt so much? Perhaps because they were so true.

And also the other members of his family seemed to hate him.

"Stop that", Jake said to himself. "Why should they hate you?"

Perhaps because he was a wimp. Too small, too weak, too stupid, too uncool.

Kim didn´t already want to be his sister any longer.

Tears went to his eyes. It hurt so much to recognize, that you´re not needed. He wasn´t important.

Just a person of billion of persons in the world.

He thought what he could do for feeling better. Calling Charlie.

Charlie was the coolest big brother you can have. He would look after Jake, now, when Jake needed that.

Jake went down to the hall to pick up the phone.

"If you need me, call me, whenever it´s necessary. Okay?", Charlie had said when he moved.

This was a situation he was needed.

Jake deleted the number very slowly. He didn´t really know what to say. How he could explain what happened, how he could explain his feelings?

Jake sighed. "Just try", he thought and put the phone to his ear.

It rang at least fifteen times when Charlie answered.

"Hello?"

"Um, hey Charlie, here´s Jake."

"Jake? Did something happened? Anyone hurt?"

"No one is hurt. The others were asleep the last time I looked."

"So...why you´re calling than?"

"I need to talk."

"And than you´re phoning me at quarter to twelve in the night? Are you crazy? I was asleep already.

What´s going to your mind?"

"I...I just need to talk to someone. It came all...over me. I..."

"Than ask mum. I´ve got better things to do. Beth visited me and I prepared a candle light dinner and now..."

"But you said...." But Jake did not have the chance to explain.

"You really became crazy, didn´t you? What the hell is wrong with you? Jake, I, we don´t talk now, yeah? We talk tomorrow. I promised Beth to be only there for her. So go to bed, Jake."

And Charlie was gone.

Jake couldn´t explain why, but he had never felt so hurt and lost like this moment before.

Thinking his eldest brother would understand, would give him the stability he needed, Jake now recognized that no one was interested how he felt. They just would feel better if he would not come through their way. They already hated him.

Perhaps the best was if he would be dissolved in fresh air they could breath. Than he would be more useful. And they wouldn´t hate him anymore.

It hurt so much to be hated. To be hated and lost like a lonely atom in the atmosphere.

Perhaps it really would be the best for all of them, if he wouldn´t be there.

If he would just go away.

He needed just seconds to make a plan.

He opened his sports bag, put a view pants, t-shirts, underwear and a sweatshirt in it, put his beanie on his head and moved into his beige jacket.

He took his shoes on and went quietly into the kitchen. For luck, there was always a lot of food in the refrigerator.

He put a bottle of orange juice into his bag, than he decided to took food, which didn´t need to be in the refrigerator. He took three apples, toast and two chocolate bars into his bag then hung it around his shoulder and went to the door.

Than he stopped. Forgot his skateboard. How could he.

When he took it, he wondered if he should write a massage for his family. He took a pen and a paper and wrote a short massage.

_Dear Mum, dear Dad, dear everybody,_

_I decided to go away because it would be the best for all of us. _

_I know I´m not the one you wish I would be, so it´s better to be not there. _

_Please don´t start searching me, I won´t be found. This is a cut. Look after each other and down blame yourself, I understand that I´m not the way you would like me, but I don´t think I am able to change. I´ll try out now and if I really should create me to change, I´ll come back, and perhaps you will love me. _

_Jake_

He put the paper onto the counter, took his bag and skateboard and went out of the door.

When he stepped outside into the could air, he had the impression that everything would become great.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for writing a review. _

_Okay, this chapter is really short, but I hope you enjoy._

**Chapter**

When Jake went trough the dark night he recognized, that he had no idea where he should go.

Without a plan he went to the train station, and looked for the trains, passing out the station. He wondered if he should get on one of the trains.

Would his family look for him? He didn´t know. His common sense said that they would but his heart wasn´t sure.

"There are eleven children left. One more or one less doesn´t make such a difference."

Also when Mark ran away they all wanted to fin him.

But this was an other situation. In his letter, Jake had written that he didn´t want them to search for him. He wanted to hide.

He couldn´t go back and look in their eyes if he knew that they didn´t care for him.

At home he felt like a black sheep, like he just stood in the way of his parents and siblings. They would be happier and calmer without him and he, that was what he suddenly reminded, he would feel better if he just would get enough distance between his old and his now new beginning life.

He bought an universal ticket, which could take him to every place a certain number of miles away and decided to go to Chicago because there he though he would find a place to stay sooner as in a smaller, unknown place.

He sat down on a seat at the window and put his jacket between his head and the window.

He was asleep after seconds.

**-------------------------**

He woke up, when the train stood still. He was confused for a while, but than he recognized were he was.

He wondered how long he had slept but decided that it could not so much time because he still

wasn´t in Chicago.

A man entered the train and took a seat in front of Jake. Jake felt uncomfortable. The man had a grey mustache and grey hair but his eyes didn´t seemed very old. Jake reminded, that his father had white hair, too, and so he couldn´t make out the age of the man.

The man raised an eyebrow.

"What´s a young boy like you doing so late in a train on his own?", he asked.

"Going to Chicago." Jake said. Then he reminded not to tell the man everything. He didn´t know this person.

"How old are you?", the man asked.

"Old enough."

"Old enough for what?"

Jake thought for a moment. "Old enough for being in a train at this time on my own."

The man laughed a little.

"I´m Peter Winston", he introduced himself.

"Jake." Jake didn´t want to tell this stranger his whole name, but lying was to stupid, he though.

"Are you running away?", the man asked. Jake looked at his face, confused. "That´s not your term."

The man laughed. "So you are. Do you know a place were you can stay?"

"Of course." Jake lied. Perhaps this man wanted him to go with him and than abuse him, he thought. Instinctive Jake made sure that there was enough space between them.

The man raised an eyebrow, but then he smiled.

"Great", he said. The train stopped.

They got off and the man looked at Jake a last time.

"Here, if you loose your place where you can stay", he said and gave Jake a card with information about his person.

Then he left. Jake gave him a strange look and read the card. There was just the name and an address, no job, nothing about a place of work.

Strange person, Jake thought. I´ll be able to fix everything on my own.

He decided to watch out for a place to sleep. It was summer, he had a sleeping bag. And he had no one around who told him how stupid he was.


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing. _

**Chapter**

He walked down a not lighted alley. The strap of his bag cut into his shoulder, his feet hurt and he was tired. It was absolutely hopeless that he would find any place where he would not got covered with the rain, that, so Jake resigned, would fall down later this night.

The sky was covered with dark clouds. Jake had been in this city before a few times, but dark it totally looked different as it does when he visited it with his parents. And also, he never really thought, when he had one of his rare visits, that one day he better should know the city.

In the distance he heard the siren of police and when he passed a garden, a dog barked.

Jake´s feeling said him, that it had be much over midnight, when he came to a small park were he decided to stay.

He laid down under a huge tree and got into his sleeping bag, putting the rest of his things deep in his sleeping bag, so nobody, also this part of the city didn´t seem like it would be possible, would take it.

A fresh wind began to blow and also he was more tired then he, as far he could remember, ever was before.

He thought for his home. Tomorrow, his parents would discover his note. He didn´t want to think about how they would react. Perhaps they would be shocked, but all in all they should be happy, so they had one kid minus around, and his siblings just could be happy to have one person minus to fight with.

Tired Jake felt asleep on the grass.

-------------------

He woke up a few hours later, the birds singing in the trees and the sun shining brightly.

He was tired, like he just slept a few minutes, his arms and legs and particularly his back hurt. It was cold, a little of morning fog laid on the ground and the air smelt fresh.

Jake was hungry. After making his sleeping bag finish he ate one of his apples, a little bit of the toast and drunk almost the whole bottle of orange juice, looked around if nobody was there and went for doing his morning toilet. Then he stood up and didn´t know what to do.

He was free, he didn´t has to went to school, he had no obligations, nothing. He just stood there and wondered what was coming next. He heard voices a few meters around, turned in panic and saw a few men, drunken and laughing loud.

Jakes heart beat faster. He took his things an went fast away, looking behind every six steps he did, if they followed him, but they didn´t and after a few minutes he sat down on a bank and breathed slowly.

He asked himself if the police would search for him. Of cause they would, also if his parents wouldn´t ask for, what, so Jake thought, would be unlikely, they did when Mark ran away, too, his school would recognize and call the police. And in a few days, the whole police of Illinois would be able to see his face on their computers.

But he didn´t want to go back, or to be brought home. He just wanted to stay away, because he thought it would be the best for all of them. It wouldn´t hurt him and it would be better for his family, too, because if he was honest, there wasn´t one of them who really wanted him to be there.

-----------------------

Lost in his thoughts, Jake didn´t recognize that the drunken men, had followed him. Now, they where just a few meters away and called for him.

"He, little boy...what you´re do...doing here? Shou...shouldn´t you be with your mummy?"

The boy stood up, put his bag and went away, not running, but fast, but the men still followed.

"Perhaps you do..don´t have a mummy?" Jake was grabbed by one of them at his jacket.

"That´s my own thing", Jake said. "Leave me alone."

"Perhaps we should do that, Stevie", another man said. "He´s just a stupid boy."

"Yeah, but per...perhaps", the man named Stevie said, "he has got some money for alcohol?"

"No, I don´t", Jake said, realizing too late that this was his fault.

The other man said, "I don´t think so" and grabbed for Jakes bag, than he looked in it, while Stevie and another man, which smelled very strange, hold Jake tight at their sides.

Helplessly Jake had to watch how the man throw the content of his bag on the ground and searched for money. When he didn´t found, he hit Jake hart into his stomach.

It hurt very bad. Jake bent and moaned. After hitting Jake a second time, he searched for the money in Jakes jacket and of cause he found all of the money Jake brought with him, it was his whole pocket money, he saved it and now he had almost fifty dollars.

"Give it back!", Jake screamed and grabbed for the man´s arm, but another one threw him to the on hardly on his back, Jake couldn´t breath for a few seconds and when he was able to get up, the men have gone, not without taking his skate board with them.

Jake cursed and started to cry. The men took all his money, not leaving a cent. Now he had nothing accept for his few clothes and the food, laying on the dirty ground.

It wasn´t much food, so that it would be over tomorrow or the day after. With tears in his eyes, Jake knelt on the floor and collected all his things and put it in his bag. His bottle of juice had been broken and the toast was on the floor, now uneatable, since the men stepped on it, when they went away.

Jake stood up and sighed. How could he just be so stupid to run away?

He was a fifteen year old boy, just owning a little bit of food and a few clothes, who stood alone in a city he couldn´t really remember.

_I would like to see more reviews ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to _Donny304 _and _Sarah27Lautner _for reviewing. _

**Chapter**

He made his way to a street more people were.

He had no idea what to do now, without money, without food, just with a few clothes and a sleeping bag. So now he didn´t know what to do. After walking a while, Jake recognized, that it was to early for most of the people to be awake. Nevertheless, Jake had to decide what he should do. He had to get money, and the only think he could think of was sitting down on the street and asking for some dollars. Begging. It wasn´t a nice thought. Sitting down on the dirty street, perhaps with his beanie in front of him seemed very submissive. But what did he thought of?

Running away sure wasn´t a joyful thing.

Also if he now would have his money, someday, he had now other chance. Unless he would steal, and that wasn´t a good option. He was no robber.

But before he sat down on the dirty street, Jake Bakers proud came over him and he decided, that he would do it, when there wasn´t left any food. His heart beat faster when he recognized that some of the few people around watched him with a kind of suspicion, so that he turned and went away fro the street, down to another, where he saw no one and sat down on a bank, burying his head into his hands.

Jake sat there for a while, not noticing the traffic around him become more and when he lifted his head, there was a whole rush on the streets of Chicago.

The busy men and women didn´t gave a shit for the young boy, who just turned fifteen a few month ago. All in all, Jake felt very small when he stood up and suddenly found himself in a big crowd, racing up and down the street, like ants.

------------------------

For a moment, Jake Baker felt really lost in the world but then, he recognized, that this was freedom. Especially it was freedom of his mind and his heart and his thoughts. Who cared what his parents were thinking? Who cared if his sisters and brothers felt guilty to let him feel so lost at home, alone? Who cared if he had not been the brother, not the son they wanted him to be?

Now, he, Jake Baker was independent of them and their disliking.

He stood alone on a street he didn´t really know, but he decided that he would learn all about it, learn how to get money, how to live at this place, ´cause if it was a nice thought or not, this place would be his new home.

------------------------

A woman passed. Her handbag hung there, swinging back and forth. Just took, Jake´s mind told him. But his hands were to slow. And also his heart was to loud, because it always told him how wrong this was. You just do what the men did to you.

Jake recognized that the moment and the woman had passed. Realizing how stupid it had to look like, him standing there, his right arm extended. Fast he took it back and had a look around, but no one seemed to care.

So Jake started with walking, but he was so nervous that not much later he started to run.

His eyes caught another bag, like ten meters in front of him. Perhaps I should run and grab it while running, he thought. He passed the bag just without grabbing for it.

This started to become strange.

He could not stop running, he just passed the people like trees and reminded football. Perhaps he should think for the game. If he just would imagine one if the many bags would be a football and he had to get it so that his team wins. He just would have to take it and run faster then the players of the other team.

Focusing another bag he ran down the street full of enemy team players. He realized the bag was owned by an old woman who definitely would not be able to run after him. His heart seemed to jump out of his body when he ran as fast at he could to get the football. The football the old woman owned. With a skilful move of his right hand, he grabbed the red handbag and then he ran as fast as he could. His mind was off, there was just instinct, like it was when he did a touchstone or something, also all the people always said, human had no instinct.

In the distance Jake could hear the voices, screaming. He didn´t listen. He run faster then he ever did before, sure because of a kind of an adrenalin rush. He began just to listen to his fast footsteps and his own, hard breathing, until he felt a short pain in his right shoulder, when he was packed on his right arm and pulled back so that he fell to the ground.

"I´ve got him!", a man´s voice shouted, and Jake needed a moment to see clear.

A bully man stood over him, still holding his left arm, while other people came up to them. There was a huge crowd and Jake winced in pain, when he tried to move, because his shoulder hurt and his arm burned a little where the man hold him.

"Let -me -go!", Jake gasped. He was out of his condition now, because his adrenalin went.

"I don´t think so! You stole the woman´s bag! You little brat."

Another man caught up to them and in the distance, Jake could make out the old woman, which was comfort by two persons, ´cause she felt to the ground. He felt guilty, how could hedo this? He was only a day here and he already stole things.

Things from a old, helpless woman. Tears shone in his eyes, because of what he did and because of the pain in his arm. But the man still hold his arm.

Jake realized, that he was a wimp, just a few hours living on the street, owning nothing, he became a criminal.

"I´ll call the police now", one of the men said.

"No!", Jake screamed. They would find out that he has been running away. This thing would stop before it really started. He wasn´t already sure if he was gone long enough for giving up a missing ad. He had heard that he needed to be gone over 24 hours or something like this.

"I´m sorry", Jake moaned, "I´ll tell the woman I´m sorry. I didn´t mean it. It just came over me. Please, I will not do this again."

"You think we believe that?", the man who hold his arm asked.

"Yeah...please. I know it was wrong."

Someone came up to them, it was the old woman.

"Let the young boy go", she said friendly, "he´s just a little confused. I don´t want him to be in trouble. It´s enough if he promises me that he will never do this again."

Jake couldn´t believe his ears, was this woman crazy?

"So, you´re okay?", he asked her. "You´re not hurt?"

"No, I just felt down."

"Are you sure we shall let him go?", the man who wanted to call the police said.

"Yes, I am." The old woman smiled.

Jakes arm was freed and Jake stood up, shaking a little bit. He grabbed his bag, well knowing that about thirty or forty pairs of eyes watched him.

"I´m sorry, Madam", Jake told her. He really was, how could he do this?

"Just leave and don´t do this again!", one of the man said in anger.

So Jake left, pulling his bag around his shoulder, that still hurt a little bit and went, first slowly then a little bit faster away and after a minute, he was lost in a crowed of people, who didn´t know what happened.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter**

Jake felt tired, when he walked down the streets. His shoulder still hurt a little bit and he really hated himself for what he had done.

Why did he do this? He looked down on his feet and kicked a little stone in anger.

He was not a thief. He was Jake Baker and he still had a feeling for what was right and what not.

Sitting down on a bank, he watched the mess on the streets. Soon, all the people would be at work.

He thought for his father who now was on his way to coach and his siblings, going to school.

His stomach hurt when he thought of them. They now still had their normal life, while he was here, becoming a criminal.

He tried to think for something else, for what to do now, because Jake knew that it was wrong to thing about the past, which he decided to leave behind. It was the best for all, the would have just a normal day and in the afternoon they would have a funny lunch, perhaps with a frog in oatmeal.

Jake rubbed his eyes, remembering that he just slept a few hours.

He wondered if it make a big difference if he would have the money and the food now.

But he couldn´t decide.

The only thing he knew, was that he had nothing to do now. He remembered that one of the man who robbed him, took his skateboard. That was really hard for him, ´cause now he couldn´t skate and without skating and without his family he was nothing, because what made him being him was his family and his board.

Jake stood up tired to find a place to rest and sleep a little.

He had not slept a lot this night, only a few hours and now he went down the streets to find a place he could stay, so that nobody saw him. It took a long time to find a good place, most places were lighted by the sunlight or seen by the people on the streets or were extreme dirty.

Jake found some place behind a old house that didn´t look like someone would life in it, where a lot of most times empty garbage cans stood around.

"I hope I won´t be woke up by a rat", Jake thought, when he laid down in his sleeping bag.

He had felt tired, but now he was totally done. He shake a little bit first, searched for a good position and went out a second later.

--------------------

He woke up, because of his grumbling stomach. He was very hungry. He didn´t know how long he had slept, and damned himself for a moment, for forgetting a watch, but then he recognized, that it was totally unimportant for him which time it was.

He stood up, grabbed his bag and went while thinking how he could get something to eat. The sun was already or , he didn´t know, still shining.

The streets were totally alive, Jake saw a few school kids running around and decided, that it had to be ´round noon and it was really hot, it was August.

Jake walked down the streets and recognized a pleasant smell coming from a food shop. When he went around a corner, he suddenly was in a street full of shops and people. His stomach growled excitedly but Jake told him to be quiet.

He could make out the different smells, coming from pizza, coffee and fish, when he decided to sit down at an edge and ask the people for some money. It wasn´t the thing he wanted to do, but after he lost all his money, he had to. He put his beanie of and hold it so that the people could put some money in and took a deep breath.

-----------------------------

The people passed without recognizing him. Jake sighed, his stomach hurt because of the hunger and standing in the hot sun made him dizzy. He hadn´t eaten or drunk something for a day now and he really needed some water. He became a headache and stumbled a little bit when he went to stand in the shade. He bit on his lips when the smells of many different food made their way to his nose.

He sat down at a wall and waited for someone get a broken heart seeing a boy like him sitting here.

After a while, the first persons put some money into his hat. It were always just a few cents, but it was more then nothing.

It was a boring and unpleasant way to get money. After an hour Jakes legs were asleep and his head was more dizzy and he had only one dollar and fourty cents. Jake asked himself if he would get some water and food for that but he didn´t thought that and so he stood up and asked the first person he saw.

"Excuse me, do you have some money for food?"

The man was uncomfortable.

"Ran away, you, huh? Own money, I think. Don´t ask passers for it."

The next person just shook his head.

The next three persons ignored him.

Then a woman gave him a dollar, he smiled. "Thanks."

After a while walking down the street he had four dollar and seventy cents and he went into a store to buy something with the biggest hunger he ever had.

----------------------------

So the days came and went. Some were good, Jake got enough money to buy food and water.

Some were bad, then he had to go to the vegetables store and took an apple or pear for eating.

And then there were the worst days. The days when a hard rain felt down, no store had there things on the streets and no one wanted to gave Jake just a few cents, just because it was to wet for stopping and searching for some money in their pockets.

Those were the days, Jake found out that the baker__put the bread he wasn´t allowed to sell any more into a sack by his garbage where it waited to be taken by the refuse collection. As often as he could Jake got all the bread he could take to eat. It was hard, some of it was very bad, but after a few days of rain, when you´re very hungry, you eat everything.

It was the worst to Jake, because now he was someone who searched in others garbage for food and that after a few days. He noticed what was wrong about him. He was really a wimp.

_Please review. _


	10. Filler

_Here´s a kind of "filler" that tells what happened at the Baker house, after Jake left, because _Sarah27Lautner_ wished there would be such a chapter, thanks for reviewing. _

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing, too. _

**Run away_Filler**

Sarah Baker made her way upstairs to tell her father that dinner was ready.

On the floor she almost ran into Mark who stood in front of the door that leaded into the room of their parents.

"What you´re doing here?", she asked her little brother. It hurt her to look at Mark, because he was the next one in the line after her, now, after Jake left, and that reminded her a lot of Jake. Also it was hard, because Mark ran away once, too, but he was found very soon, also it seemed like years.

But Jake wasn´t found yet. Everything they had was this damn note on the counter, that her mother found exact one month before.

_Sarah ran downstairs. "Give it back, Mike!" _

_Her little brother had stolen her diary. "That´s not fun, mum, tell Mike to give me my diary back!", Sarah said to her mum, who stood at the counter. But her mum didn´t move. _

"_Mum?" Sarah made a step towards her, recognizing the paper in her hand. It looked like a letter. _

_It took only a second for Sarah to make out Jakes handwrite. _

"_What´s that?", Sarah asked. _

"_He ran away. He..", but her mother couldn´t say anything more. _

_It took Sarah a moment for realizing the sense of her mothers words. Than Sarah gasped and grabbed the paper. She read it three times, but she couldn´t believe. _

_She already could not believe it after her father went to Jakes room, and found didn´t find his son in it. She couldn´t believe it when the police came. _

_She couldn´t believe it when Charlie, Nora and Lorraine came home, all totally shocked and Charlie blamed himself, when he had to tell his family Jake called him in the night. _

_She couldn´t believe it a month later, when she and Mark stood in front of the door of their parents room. _

Sarah looked at Mark.

"Dinner´s ready", she told him.

He raised his eyebrows, than he looked back at the door Tom was behind.

"I think he´s crying", Mark said.

Sarah frowned, her father never cries. "He never cries, Mark. He´s a dad. Dads don´t cry."

"I saw him crying once. It was when I ran away. He cried when he found me. Not much, but he did." Mark didn´t look at his sister. Sarah didn´t want to believe this. Her father did not cry.

"I´ll prove it to you, that he doesn´t cry", Sarah said and opened the door.

What she saw was an old man who was sitting on a bed and cried.

"Dad?", she asked when she entered the room.

"Huh?" He was embarrassed, that his children found him like that. Sarah saw this in his wet eyes.

There was a very uncomfortable moment while standing around in this room, but then Mark sat down next to his father and hugged him.

Sarah sat down at the other side. "We´ll find him, dad."

"It´s over a month now. What when something bad happened to him?"

That was totally Sarah´s biggest sorrow, too. "Nothing will happened. I know Jake well enough to tell that he´s smart and tough enough for everything he faces. And normally, he´s a lucky one, too, if you´re thinking for the number of accidents he had."

Tom nodded.

"But why? I mean, why did he think we wouldn´t love him? What I´ve done wrong, that he ran away?"

Sarah had no answer.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks to _Donny304, Sarah27Lautner _and _waywarddaughter _for reviewing. It´s nice to see that you enjoy this story. _

**Chapter 9**

The time passed, also Jake sometimes thought when he came to a few very bad days, that it would not end.

The life on the streets of Chicago had its bad sides, like the taste of hunger, the dirt and the cold and rainy days, especially the last days, because September had begun and the rain continued to fall down, but it also had its good sides. Like there were no one who made him feel bad like his family did before he ran away.

The days had their structure.

When he woke up in the morning, because of the voices of the human, the sounds of the cars he went for searching for some food from the Baker, his breakfast, than he begged until lunch, and tried to take money the rest of the day.

He tried to have got three meals a day, but normally he had not enough money, food or time.

He was happy when he was able to the old buns from the baker, but after a while, the baker must have noticed that his old buns went and put them on another place Jake didn´t know.

This made his hunger, which normally was under control and often he wasn´t really hungry, worse.

He needed to focus on begging and robbing, were he became better every day. He learned which places the people were, that had "weak hearts" so that they gave faster and more money.

Robbing was just when the market was. But Jake was very worse in it, most time his conscience played him tricks, and he did mistakes. But every once in a while, his hunger was so strong that he was able to put the conscience off.

-------------------

Jake was even in a state that he really knew what to do in different situations, when it happened.

Since a few days, he felt uncomfortable, his neck burned like someone would watch him the whole time. He swore to be careful and said to himself that there was nothing he had to be scared of, but the feeling didn´t go.

It was a Saturday when he should find out that his strange feeling wasn´t because of hallucinations.

--------------------

He just walked down a small street when suddenly his moth was covered with a cold hand and he was pulled into a narrow side-street.

He wanted to scream but his mouth was still covered and he was pulled with his back against a stonewall.

Around him were five boys, two of them hold his shoulders so he couldn´t move. They were very big. They both reminded Jake a little bit of Greg Stunner.

A third boy stood in front of him. He was smaller than the others, five or seven centimetres taller then Jake, and he seemed much thinner than the others. He had brown half long locked hair and his green eyes sparkled angry.

"So you´re this guy who runs around in our territory and makes the people take more attention."

Jake was totally confused, he didn´t know what the boy talked about.

"What....are you talking about?"

The boy let out a soft laugh. "What I´m talking about? You hang around in our territory, steal, took food and ask me what I´m talking ´bout?"

Jake moaned softly, he couldn´t breath so well while those guys were holding him.

"I didn´t know there were any territories", Jake explained.

"Of course not." The boy nodded to another, one of the big ones. "So, now you know. Don´t hang around in our territory again, that´s a lesson you´ve got to learn."

The boy he nodded to swung his fist an hit Jake straight into his stomach. Jake moaned and sank down because nobody hold him anymore.

Than it began. The four big boys around him hit him strong, kicked him into his stomach and started to hit his head against the wall. Jakes head went dizzy and the pain made him moaning and shaking.

After a while they stopped. "It´s enough", the leader said. "I hope you will never enter our territory again." Than he was still for a moment. "Lets go", he than said to his bully friends and left Jake moaning.

It took a time before Jake was able to see clear and think. He didn´t want to get up. Why should he.

He had no place to go now. Not even the street wanted him.

He didn´t want to run into those guys again. He wrapped his arms around him and suddenly felt something in the pocket of his jacket. He held a moment, than he grabbed into his pocket and piece of paper. It was the card of Peter Winston, the man he met on the train.

That´s crazy, Jake though, you can´t go there.

But then he stood up and read the address again. There was nothing to loose. He took a deep breath and decided to ask someone were he could find this address.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing. _

**Chapter 10 **

Now he stood here, in front of the old brown door and couldn´t already decide to knock.

There were so many thoughts that went through his head, that he was totally confused. First thing was, that he didn´t know what to say. Than, there was the though what Peter Wilson would do with him. Jake couldn´t believe that he should reminded Jake and also if he does, what would he say, what would he do?

But Jake didn´t though it could be worse, or he had the feeling that it would not important.

He took a deep breath and rang the bell.

His heart beat so loud he thought that it was louder than his knock at the door. Jake looked down at himself, his dirty clothes and he felt some blood at his eyebrow and lips. For a moment Jake aske himself what he would do, if Peter Winston wouldn´t life here, when suddenly the door went open and Peter Winston stood in front of him.

Jake looked to his face, concentrated on not looking weak.

For a moment, Peter Winston´s face was an total mask, than he smiled.

"Ah, Jake, aren´t you? We met in the train, didn´t we?" His rough voice didn´t seem too friendly and not too bad.

Jake nodded. "I´m sorry to bother you, but you gave me this card and..." Jakes voice went, he held the card to the man, happy that his hand didn´t shake.

"Yes, I remember", Peter Winston said. "Come in. You wanna sleep here?"

Jake didn´t move but he nodded.

Peter Winston looked at him. "Come on, I don´t bite."

So Jake entered the house. Now he stood in a dark floor with citron coloured carpet.

"I didn´t know were to go else I was just...", Jake started with a soft voice, but Peter Winston cut him off.

"I don´t wanna know. I told you that you can come to me. Now you´re here. Everything else is your own thing."

Jake nodded, remembering his hurt face.

"Sure you´re hungry?"

Oh yes, he was. Jake nodded while he looked around. But there wasn´t much to see, except for this empty floor.

"Follow me."

Winston leaded Jake to the end of the floor, were a light came from. They entered a green – white kitchen, with a counter on the opposite side. On the left there was a table, where a brown - haired boy, around sixteen, perhaps a little bit older sat. He smiled when he saw Jake.

"Jake, this is Diego", Peter Winston explained while going to the counter. "Diego, this is Jake, I told you about him."

"Hola. Cómo estás?", the young man said. "You´re sleeping here now?" He had a strange mexican accent.

"Uh..."

"He´s hungry, I´m making dinner now", Peter Winston said. "Don´t bombard him with questions Diego."

"Sí, sí."

Jake smiled at him and sat down at the table. A while everything was still and Peter served the food. Spaghetti. Jake couldn´t remember being so hungry and he forgot his manners and ate as fast as he could. The others didn´t say anything.

After dinner Peter Winston showed Jake a place to sleep. "So, you´re tired?"

Jake nodded, god, was he tired. As if he hadn´t slept days.

There were two beds and after Peter Winston went out off the room, he just took his shoes off, laid down on one of the beds and was asleep after seconds.

----------------

He woke up when someone shook his shoulder.

"Jake. You have to stand up." Jake moaned. This place was so comfortable. He didn´t want to stand up.

"Come on, please. Peter wants to talk to you." Jake opened his eyes and looked into Diego´s face.

"Good morning", said the mexican boy with a smile.

"Good morning", said Jake a little bit confused.

"What time is it?", he asked the Mexican.

"´Round eight in the morning Breakfast´s ready", Diego´s accent reminded Jake out where he was.

Jake was totally awake now. He stood up, took his shoes on and followed Diego into the kitchen.

---------------------

Peter Winston already sat at the table, but he didn´t eat.

There were toast with marmalade and orange juice and Jake was happy about having such a nice breakfast. After finishing breakfast, Peter Winston began to speak:

"Well, Jake , you know. I´m really enjoyed about giving you a place you can stay. That´s exactly why I offered it to you the day we met. But I will offerer you something else, too. I offer you a job."

He stopped for a moment to think. Jake looked at him, really nervous, because he had no idea what was coming next.

"I´m working as a, yeah, I think we can talk about it as someone who visits his customers mostly at home and, yeah, I´ve got a lot of wares that have to be brought to my customers save and I can need every help I´m able to get. So, Diego, for example, is working as a delivery boy and I want you, Jake, to do this, too."

Jake was confused. He didn´t really understand what Pater meant.

"What do you mean? What wares to you sell?"

"That´s a thing, I can´t tell you. It would be not fair, thinking of my customers, whom I told that no one would do. Your job is not to ask, your job is to carry the wares from here to my customers. Do you understand this?"

"Of course."

"So, do you wanna have this job? I will pay you for it, sure. One part of your earning will be the place to stay you´ve here. And than you´ll get some money, for buying you things like clothes or chocolate or any other thing you want to. I don´t care. If you´re doing your job, it´s your money and you can do what you want."

Jake nodded. He was a little bit confused, because of all the information in the early morning, but he got it.

"Fine", Peter Winston said.

But there was one thing that was flying around Jake´s mind, one big think he was scared of to say, because he didn´t want to loose his place to stay.

"Mr. Winston?", he asked.

"Please, call me Peter, I hate being called Mr. Winston."

Jake nodded. "So, Peter, I...I don´t really know anything about this city. I mean...I don´t know it, not its streets and so on. I don´t think", it was really hard to say this, "that I´ll be able to visit your customers."

Jake was really confused, when suddenly Peter Winston started to laugh.

"No matter Jake. You will go with Diego the first time, than you will learn everything you´ve got to know. I would be crazy to give you my wares, if I don´t know if I can trust you... We will see this later."


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks _Donny304 _for reviewing. Uhm, a ware that´s a product or article, something Peters sells. _

_Perhaps I shouldn´t trust Google Sprachtools when I don´t know a word in English. _

**Chapter 11**

Jake had forgotten how the time had went, so when he stepped outside, he froze a little bit under his jacket.

In this moment he wanted to know which date was, but he didn´t want to ask.

Diego smiled at him.

"Come on, it´ll be fun. Now I´m not alone."

"Yes, sure." Jake hold the packet in his arms. He didn´t already know what to think about the whole thing.

"What do you mean?"

Jake laughed when Diego figured out that Jake had a uncomfortable feeling.

"Most of his, how do you say?, customers accept me. And so they will accept you, too, I think", Diego said looking down to Jake, also he wasn´t so much taller than Jake.

"So", Diego started again, "here´s the first one. Be quiet. They don´t like new ones. I´m talking."

Jake nodded, also Diego couldn´t have seen him, because he had already turned and rang the bell of the house.

The door went open and Diego and Jake went in, down a small floor, upstairs to a flat. They knocked and just a second after a man in the late fourties appeared at the door. He wore a suite, but it was so dirty that he just looked shabby.

"What do you want?"

"I´m coming from Mr. Winston. He wanna money", Diego explained. Jake felt uncomfortable, the man scared him, he looked aggressive.

"I´ll give him his fucking money, okay? Just leave me alone."

The door slammed closing. Jake looked at Diego.

"What was that?", he asked.

The young Mexican shrugged. "Don´t ask. Not your thing. We´re just delivery boys."

Jake nodded a little bit irritated, than he followed Diego to the next customer.

---------------------

They gave him the packet and he gave them money. Jake couldn´t see how much it was, because Diego was hiding it, but he was sure that it was much.

Than they went to the next customer.

The procedure was always the same, they gave the men something out of a packet, and he gave them money.

After a few customers, they were finished.

"Now we go to Mr. Thomson", Diego explained and leaded Jake to a richer area.

Mr. Thomson lived in a huge house with a garden that reminded Jake a lot of his home. He swallowed. He didn´t want to think of his home: it wasn´t his home anymore.

Diego entered the garden, but Jake stopped when suddenly he had a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Who´s Mr. Thomas?", Jake asked Diego, who had given him a look which asked what was wrong.

"Someone Peter works with."

"You mean he´s an other customer?"

"Ah...no, I not mean that, he...", Diego began. Than he muttered something in Spanish.

"What?"

"Don´t know it in English. They are kind of partners."

Jake frowned. He didn´t really want to enter the house, but he had no other chance and when Diego rang the bell, a young man opened the door. He had to be around twenty and Jake couldn´t believe it. He had thought for an old man when he saw the house.

"Do you come from Peter Winston?", the young man asked.

Diego nodded. "I´m Diego. Mr. Thomson knows me."

"And you?", the man asked Jake.

"He´s working for him, too."

"Come in."

They entered a huge hall, which reminded Jake to a church. The floor was filled with mosaic tiles and the windows were covered with dark red curtains.

Next to the hall was a small living room. In a armchair next to a fireplace not inflamed sat a dark haired man with a moustache.

"What do you want?", he asked.

"Peter said Mr. Simons did not pay."

"For how long?"

"Five weeks."

"Tell Peter he will get his money soon. I´ll worry about it."

"Okay." Than the man turned around and saw Jake.

"A new face? What´s your name?"

Jake became nervous, what would the man want?

"Jake", answered Diego, but it sounded more like ´Jack`, like it always does when Diego called him by his name.

"So Jack", Mr. Thomson said.

"Jake, my name´s Jake. From Jacob", Jake said nervous.

"So, _Jake._ Come here."

Jake didn´t want to have a smaller distance between this man and himself as two meters, but Diego pushed him forward and gave him a encouraging look.

"So Jake. What do you think of earning some extra money?"

"I don´t understand, Sir."

Mr. Thomson smiled. He took a breath to say something, but suddenly Diego was next to them.

"You know Peter´s not in this business. You don´t do that."

"Perhaps he changes his mind when I ask him."

"Never." Diego´s voice was totally cold, Jake froze a little bit. He didn´t understand anything, but it couldn´t be good.

"We go now", Diego said and leaded Jake out of the house, out of the garden onto the street.

Jake gazed at him. "What just happened?"

"This man...", Diego began angry. Jake raised his eyebrows.

"He is terrible, but without we have nothing to own money. We need him."

"What business did you mean when you tell him Peter´s not in?", Jake asked Diego while they almost ran through the streets. His heart beat fast. He swallowed.

Diego suddenly stopped, turned around to look into Jake´s eyes.

"He has sex with boys like us."

Jakes heart stopped beating for a moment and he forgot to breath. Has sex with boys like them?

Were did he went? Why did he go to this Winston guy? And he seemed nice.

"Don´t be scared Jake", Diego said. "Peter never let someone do this to us. He promised me. It will not happen."


	14. Chapter 14

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing. _

_This is a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy._

**Chapter 12**

They walked together in silence.

The darkness came over the town and Jake was not able to say something. A battle raged in his head, something didn´t want to accept what his mind told him: That he did a mistake when he went to the house of Peter Winston.

But this guy seemed to care about him and he gave him a place to stay, food, and Diego had said he would never accept someone to have _sex, _it was complicated to think for this word,with Jake or Diego.

Diego had said that.

And Diego was a kind of friend for Jake. When he was honest, Diego was the only one Jake really trusted, also they knew only for a day, perhaps Jake felt like that because Diego and he were in a very similar situation.

But Jake was scared. He couldn´t forget what Diego´s said. But on the other hand, Jake was willed to stay at Peter´s, ´cause it was comfortable and he got food and a job.

"After a while it will be the most normal thing of the world, our job", Diego said when they went back to Peter Winston´s house.

"In what business Peter´s in? What´s in the packages?", Jake wanted to know.

"I don´t know."

"Why not?"

Diego turned around: "Cause we are not allowed to know."

Jake frowned. That seemed strange, but he didn´t say anything else, Diego didn´t seem as if he would answer any other question. If he could or not.

Suddenly they were back at Peter´s house. Jake entered it with a strange feeling but when he smelled the lunch, he was able to forget everything. Peter seemed to be a very good cook.

They ate in silence, Diego seemed as if he wouldn´t want to talk and Jake wondered if he did something wrong, but decided, that asking for the packages couldn´t be _so _wrong and Diego was tired.

"What day it is?", Jake asked.

"Tuesday", Peter answered.

That was everything. Great. At home lunch was so loud you couldn´t understand any of your own words. But _home _was far away.

"So I´ve got a meeting at four o´clock and I want you to get the house clean, okay?", Peter explained after lunch.

"Sí."

Jake nodded. Then Peter gave him a bucket and some other things to clean and leaded him into the living room. "Clean it up. Diego and I are in the kitchen."

Jake nodded again and started to clean the cupboards, also he hated cleaning. His room at home was a total mess.

He needed an hour, than the living room was cleaned up. He decided to look for Diego and Peter because he hadn´t heard anything after Peter told him to clean the living room.

He went straight to the kitchen, when he heard their voices coming up to them.

"I think, he´s interested in Jake." That was Diego. Jake was confused. As quiet as he could, he moved to the kitchen and listened to Diego and Peter. _Why they´re talking about me?, _Jake asked himself.

"Fuck." That was Peter.

"What will you do?", Diego asked.

"I don´t know. The only thing I can do is not sent Jake to his house again", Peter answered.

"You think that´s enough?"

"Yes. It has to be enough. Mr. Thomson knows my rules. And he accepts them." Peter sighed. "I really don´t wanna one of you to be hurt. It´s kind of duty that I look after you two."

Jake frowned. His heart beat faster than normal and he needed to remember how to breath.

He was confused. And a bad feeling in his stomach told him to be scared.


	15. Chapter 15

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing. Of cause there are a lot good reasons for Jake to go home, but if he would do, the story would come to an end, and I would have nothing to write. _

_I hope you´ll enjoy the next chapter. _

**Chapter 13 **

This night, Jake couldn´t sleep. He rolled over from one side to the other side, ending up on his back, watching the ceiling over his head.

He could not get the face of Mr. Thomson out of his head, as often as he tried, it seemed like this picture was burned into his brain for forever.

The most important thing was that, also he was scared, he had to deal with it _alone, _´cause if he would tell someone, Diego or Peter, they would know that he had listened to the conversation he had not been allowed to hear.

Perhaps Peter had just given him this cleaning up work to do, so that he was able to talk to Diego alone.

Jake dealt with the thought to run away, but he reminded the days he had been without a place to stay and shook a little bit. This was not the way he wanted to end up, to live the rest of his life on the streets of Chicago. One moment he thought for going back to the place he once called his home, but all he could imagine was the disappointed face of his father or the blaming gesture of his mother and all those persons, who were happier without him. His siblings, his classmates, the football coach.

After hours, Jake felt asleep, having nightmares.

-----------

The next morning, Jake woke up by hearing a dog bark.

"And you´re sure you haven´t seen this boy since this day in the train?", a voice asked.

Jake jumped out of his bed with a fast pumping heart.

"Yes. I´ve never seen him after." This was Peter´s voice.

"Did he say where he wanted to go?", the other voice asked.

"No. We didn´t talk a lot. He didn´t want to talk with a stranger", Peter said. "And it´s nothing I remember so well. He was just a boy in a train."

"But someone saw him entering this house."

"I would know that, wouldn´t I?"

"Sure."

The front door slammed and Peter entered the room Jake and Diego slept.

Jake didn´t want to look into his eyes.

"This was a young man", Peter explained. "He asked for you, Jake."

Jake bit on his lips. "Doesn´t matter."

"Sure it does. Someone is searching for you. Your family."

That wasn´t true, Jake thought. "Why should they!?", he screamed. "I´m sure their live´s much better without me! They didn´t want to deal with me. I know this. I know. Do you understand?"

Jake was angry. And sad. Everything just became good. He had a place where he could stay now.

Why now there was someone that searched for him? Now. Didn´t he run away weeks ago? Wasn´t it fall? He could see the leaves were coloured now.

Peter nodded once. "I don´t wanna know Jake. It´s okay for me if you stay here and work for me, that´s great and I don´t wanna know why you run away, this is your past and your past doesn´t matter to me. But I felt obliged to tell you that there was someone who´s searching for you."

"Which I still don´t believe", Jake mumbled so no one could hear.

He turned around so he didn´t see Diego watching him sad and got dressed. It wasn´t so easy, because for a reason Jake didn´t know, he shook.

-------

After breakfast Jake and Diego went to see some other customers. Peter gave Jake a plan of the city.

"Just to be sure you won´t get lost", he told him.

They went to see a lot of people and after the third customer Diego smiled at Jake.

"Peter wants you to talk to the next one", he explained. "He says it is better, because they understand you much better than me, some have got problems with my accent."

Jake nodded. It wasn´t complicated.

He rang the bell twice, first time long, than short, that was there sign.

The door went open and a young man, who was, like Jake sadly recognized, in Charlie´s age, stood there.

"Here´s what you´ve ordered", Jake explained.

The man nodded and searched for his money. "Here", he said and they exchanged the package and the money and the man closed the door.

"See, it is not complicated", Diego said smiling and Jake nodded.

"Peter said, if we want, we can split up the customers and we both get a few. Than we are finished earlier."

"That´s why he gave me than plan, isn´t it?", Jake asked. Diego nodded. "But I like to finish my round today with you, Jake. Tomorrow we split."

Jake nodded and they went to the next customer.

------------

They where almost finished when Jake saw something hanging on a streetlight.

It was _his _face on a paper. Over it stood: _Missing. _Under it: _Have you seen this boy? Jake Baker, 15 years old, last seen in Evanston, Illinois, brown hair, brown eyes. If you have seen him and/or can give us a hint call _and then the telephone number of the Baker´s home.

Jake gulped.

"What´s that?", Diego asked, "isn´t that you?"

Jake didn´t answered. His stomach and head became crazy. Not knowing what to do, even what to think about this, Jake began shaking. Than, after hesitating a second he hold the paper at one end and ripped it from the streetlight.

"What are you doing?", Diego whispered.

Jake didn´t answered, he began to ran.

"Jake!", Diego screamed, than he followed.

After a thirty meters, there was another paper. Jake took this, too. He felt tears burning in his eyes.

But he wasn´t so sad, or so angry. The strongest feeling was fear, fear, that the people would recognize him as a run away, that, now, after he had settled so well.

For the first time after he ran away, he not thought every five minutes for his home, he had a new life. And those missing papers would not destroy this.

_Please review. _


	16. Chapter 16

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing. _

_What happens in this chapter is perhaps a little bit strange in some way, but I asked a friend if I shall really do this, and she said it would be more exiting if I write this. So I hope you enjoy and please review for saying if you think it´s good or if you think it isn´t. _

**Chapter 14**

Jake fought with himself. "Calm down", he whispered. "Everything will be okay. Calm down or the people will stare at you."

Diego was right behind him. "What does that mean Jake?", he asked.

Jake turned. "What do you think? Someone is searching for me! My", Jake pointed onto the telephone number, "family is searching for me! And all those people", Jake made he little gesture pointing on the street, "see me, and perhaps they call them."

Jake shook. He didn´t want to talk to his family, didn´t want to see them. He was to scared.

"Believe me, they don´t really _look. _A boy on a missing paper doesn´t matter to them. Be careful if you see a policeman", Diego explained. "And now, we have to split. You have the address?"

Jake nodded.

"Well, goodbye." And Diego left. Jake saw into his eyes when he left, something special was there and Jake just could explain that Diego thought he was going to be crazy.

Jake decided to concentrate on his job. It went very well, no problems, everyone paid and in the early evening, Jake was done. With the plan of the city in his hand, he didn´t get lost and he could made his way back to Peter´s earlier than normal.

He had almost forgotten about the missing papers, a nice dinner seemed more important to him, when he saw something standing about thirty meters in front of him. Someone.

In the last rays of the sun, that set down at the horizon stood Annie Murtaugh talking to someone. And this person was no one else than Charlie.

Instinctively Jake took a step backward and he started to breath a lot faster than normal.

He really tried to think, but he couldn´t.

Than, Annie saw him.

Jake turned around, when his legs, which were frozen, could move again and started to run.

He had just one thing on his mind, not to talk to them, not see them again, they would want him to go with them, also they would find no reason for it.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could just to get away.

"Jake!" This was not real, he though,this was not real, it was only in his mind.

He wanted them to get away, he wanted them out of his life. It hurt too much to see them.

Suddenly he ran into someone. Gasping, Jake took a look in fear and was confused when he saw Peter.

"So where are you going so fast?", Peter asked.

Jake shook his head. "Nowhere, I ...I´m finished, I wanted to go back."

"But you´re going in the wrong direction", Peter explained friendly, also Jake had the feeling, Peter knew more than this sentence would said.

"Oh", was everything Jake could say.

"And it seemed like you were running away", Peter whispered. "What´s wrong Jake?"

"Nothing." Than: "Jake?!" This was Charlie.

"He means you, doesn´t he?", Peter asked softly.

Jake nodded. "I won´t see him. I want to go."

"Too late", Peter said and when Jake saw into his face, he recognized Peter watching something in front of him. Jake turned and saw Charlie and Annie in front of him.

He wanted to scream, that they should go away, but he decided that wouldn´t be so clever with all those people around them.

More than this he wanted to run away, but this would not solve any problem, and also, Peter held his shoulder.

"Jake, we...thanks god. Do you know for how long we´re looking for you?", Charlie said smiling.

For Jake this was the most wrong smile he ever saw. Perhaps someone else wouldn´t understand this, but for Jake it was like that.

He couldn´t say a word, stepped backward and contact Peter.

"So no you can go home with me, okay Jake?"

Jake shook his head automatic.

"Why not? Everything will be fine." Charlie was hurt.

"Everything is fine", Jake whispered. "Everything was fine before you hung up those stupid papers." He really meant that. Why Peter didn´t say anything?

Charlie´s eyes had grown big. "You", he was saying to Peter. "What have you done with him?"

"He didn´t do anything Charlie. Just because at home no one cared for me, just because you feel guilty about your behaviour you don´t have to think, that he has done the same."

For a moment Jake really thought Charlie was sorry. But he could not go with him. He wasn´t able to. If he would, everything would became the same, like it was before he ran away.

"Go away now, Charlie."

Charlie watched him in disbelieve.

"I tell the police about you." He pointed on Peter. "And you", he watched Jake. "I could force you to come with me. You´re under age, you´re...you´re out of your mind. What´s wrong with you Jake?"

Some of the people watched them. Jake was scared, than he went away. He just turned and went away. He didn´t understand what just happened, what he did, but he knew it was the right thing, ´cause anything reminding him on his home hurt to much and he just wanted to forget.

"Jake?"

This was Peter. He came up to him and stopped him.

"Who was he?"

Jake didn´t want to answer. He didn´t watch Peter, he turned his head, because tears filled up his eyes. That it was, all the time he was without his family, but with Peter and Diego, who had grew a real friend, he never cried.

"Come on, my car is parked a few streets away, we go back to the house now, okay Jake?", Peter asked. Jake nodded, not able to do or say something.

Peter leaded him to his car and Jake sat down in the passenger seat while Peter sat down behind the steering wheel, but he didn´t drive.

"Jake..."

"Just drive!"

So Peter started the car. "He seemed to miss you. He seemed as if he really wanted you back."

"But I won´t go back. I really want to stay."

"Don´t you miss your family?", Peter asked while he began to drove.

"I´m feeling good like I live now", Jake answered. "At home I didn´t feel home. And I know that if I would go back, everything would become as it was before I went." He was sure, this was the truth.

"I´m lost now?", Jake whispered. "At home I felt much more lost."


	17. Filler 2

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing so continuously. I am happy that you´ve liked the chapter. _

_Thanks to _dreamer _for reviewing, too. Ahh...you had a good guess and a bad guess, but I don´t say which one was good, and which one was bad. _

_Here comes another "filler", because I thaught it would be not fair, if Charlie would not be able to "say a word" after this meeting. But it is very short. _

**Filler 2**

Charlie was absolutely shocked. He couldn´t think.

He had just found his brother and he had lost him again. He should have take him home, if Jake had want to or not, and not let him run away again.

"Charlie?", Annie whispered.

"Why? What?", Charlie didn´t understand what just happened.

"We should go to the police", Annie said.

Charlie nodded, he wasn´t able to say a full sentence.

"He...he just ran away again. And...this guy... whoa this fucking guy, what did he do to him? Seems like Jake got a brainwashing. Did you see his eyes they were full of fear."

"He was confused Charlie."

Charlie watched his girlfriend without understanding.

"He just met you after a long time, he...god he ran away and than he saws you. Of cause he was confused. He didn´t now how to react."

"But he reacted."

_Everything _is _fine._

_He didn´t do anything.._

_Go away now Charlie._

Charlie went to his car and got in. Annie followed. Charlie started the car. He was angry. Angry about Jake, angry about this man, angry about himself.

"Charlie?"

"Don´t talk."

He drove away. Perhaps he would get out of the car again when he would see a police station, or he would just drive home. Without Jake.  
"What shall I tell them? Mum and Dad and all the others? I can´t tell them that I met him and I let him go away."

"But we know where he is now!", Annie respond.

"They will go away, I´m sure about that. They will no longer stay in Chicago, why should they? I´m so damn stupid."

"Charlie..:"

"I have to concentrate. Don´t talk, Annie."

_Please review. I am begging for this. _


	18. Chapter 18

_First of all, thanks to _music writer _and _Donny304 for reviewing.

_Second, sorry that it took a little bit to update this story, but I have a lot of other things to do in the _

_moment and I was not sure what I shall write, too._

_Third, I am searching for a Beta reader, because there are grammatical mistakes, and I hope there _

_is someone who can help me. _

_And last but not least enjoy the next chapter! _

**Chapter 15 **

The whole time after meeting his elder brother Jake went on doing housework so that he would not be able to think a moment about what happened.

He knew Peter and Diego watched him, he could feel their gazes in his neck, but when he turned around Peter read the newspaper or a letter and Diego built card houses with a 52 set of poker cards with which Peter wanted to teach them Poker, but Jake and Diego totally failed.

Peter hadn´t sent him to a customer since this day and Jake was lucky about that, cleaning the whole house from its head to its feet and let do Diego the delivery thing.

In the evenings Peter cook and he wanted Jake to learn and also Jake first thought he would just burn everything, he had to see that cooking wasn´t so difficult and it mad fun, not like cleaning.

Just one time Jake and Peter spoke about the missing what had happened.

"For you it would be the best to go underground", Peter explained.

Jake looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Stay at home just a few weeks, until everything will have calmed down."

"What if they call the police?", Jake asked a little afraid.

"The police doesn´t look for run away ´s Jake", Peter explained. And the conversation stopped and never began again.

After a time, Peter decided that Jake should teach Diego, so that Diego´s English would became better and he could write and read in English.

That wasn´t so easy, and it wasn´t Jakes favorite task and Jake and Diego spent most of the time doing nonsense.

After a while Peter trusted Jake enough for show him to do some paper work, counting the bills, watch the cash box and tell Peter when some of his customers has to much debts.

It was a big honour for Jake and he was sure he never did something so seriously before, except for skateboarding perhaps, but this had been fun.

After a while Jake was allowed to go out, also it was only for buying food.

------------------

So the days became shorter and colder, the trees balder, the sky greyer and the faces of the people who Jake met on the streets, unhappier. That doesn´t give Jake a lot of happiness. He started to hate running threw the streets, plus he had to put his hood on, so nobody recognized him, an order from Peter.

But Jake thought that most people gave a shit for a boy whom´s face was on a missing paper. And also, after a time, the papers were damaged by the rain or another missing paper with another face on it took its place.

What Jake really scared, was the police.

Whenever he saw a policeman on the street, he watched the ground and passed praying that they won´t recognize him.

But no one asked. No person just watched his face and the process Jake wanted to start, started.

He didn´t really forget about home, but he didn´t thought for it anymore.

Just sometimes, at night, when there was no sound except for the calm breathes of Diego, he thought for his family, remembering always three scenes. The one Sarah and his friends were mad about him, the one his parents told him he was no good and the one Kim said she couldn´t realize that he was her relative. This one hurt the most and Jake always wanted to forget and fall asleep.

_---------------------

"I´ve got a new customer", Peter said at the breakfast table.

Jake and Diego watched each other, they both hoped that the other would have to go to this customer.

"It´s your turn Jake", Peter explained. "You do not have so many visits to do as Diego has, so sure, it´s your turn."

That was right and Jake didn´t complained.

After breakfast Jake went to see the customers, being a little bit nervous about the new one, but he was the last on the list, so Jake had enough time between.

-------------------------------

The sun almost set down when Jake entered the dirty floor. The walls were grey and it smelled like someone had listened to the call of nature a few times.

Jake was a little bit grumpy when he went upstairs, not feeling comfortable, but he knew it was his job and there was no way to flee. He knocked a few times at the door, sighed, hoping no one was home, when suddenly someone opened the door and Jakes eyes grew wide.

_Please review. _


	19. Chapter 19

_Thanks to _Donny304 _for reviewing. _

_I plan to write four or five other chapters and than it will be over. _

_I do not own Cheaper by the dozen. _

**Chapter 16**

For the first moment Jake wanted to run away.

The door was opened by a boy Jake recognized very fast, either he had just seen him once.

A memory came to his mind.

"_So you´re this guy who runs around in our territory and makes the people take more attention."_

Before his inner eye stood a few big boys and a smaller one, with brown, locked hair, the one who stood in front of him now.

Anger filled him. He wanted to scream at the boy and opened his mouth when he recognized it would take to much attention.

"You", he said instead of this.

The boy raised his eyebrows.

"What do you want?", he asked.

A short moment Jake wanted to hit him, then he decided to act cool.

"I have got a delivery from Peter Winston for a Tom Bullet", Jake gulped. Bad name. Toms were not welcome in his life.

"Moment, he´s in the bedroom", the boys voice was so much different from the voice Jake recognized. No more power, no more strength, he sounded scared now and sad.

The boy went away and spoke to someone. Suddenly Jake heard a hit. Then there were steps and the boy came back.

"He has no money." The boys voice was nothing more than a quiet whisper. He was scared.

"But he is a new customer." Jake did not feel sympathy for this boy. The boy was not better then the man who hit him.

More sadness, when this was possible, filled the boys eyes. "He has no money", the boy said again.

Finding a solution, Jake whipped with his foot and watched the boy.

"Do you have money?" What did he do? Of cause he could not take the boys money. But he felt so mighty now. He was someone, but this boy, this boy who had treated him like dirt this day on the street, this boy was no one.

The boy shook his head. In this moment the man´s voice came out of the apartment.

"What are you doing Cameron? I want you here!" This voice made Jake shaking, it was cold and emotionless, but full of lust.

"What was the name of your boss?", the boy asked Jake.

"Peter Winston."

Suddenly a huge man with a red face, only wearing boxers appeared onto the doorway and watched Jake.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Jake sighed. "I am coming from Peter Winston. I am the delivery boy. You wanted something. Do you have the money?" Normally Jake spoke with a whisper, so no one else as the customer could here him, but he had the feeling, this man would not understand him if he would scream so loud you could here it on the other side of a football field.

"I don´t give you money."

"Then I won´t give you anything you wanted to have from Peter Winston."

That was the wrong sentence. The man grabbed Jakes hand and watched him angry. "Say your friend Peter, I could turn around your neck the next time you come here." With those words, he pushed Jake back so that he rammed against the wall and shut the door.

Jake blinked twice.

Strange persons, he thought. Normally he should have told Peter, but he did not want to appear like a wimp. He wasn´t a wimp anymore.

He stepped outside onto the darkness and the cold air and made his way back to Peter´s house.

Jake walked about ten minutes when someone came up to him, and this was, definitely the worst part of the day. It was a policeman.

Please, he prayed, please do not make him recognize me.

"Hey boy", the policeman said, and Jake decided it would take much more attention if he would ignore him.

"What do you have in this box?", the policeman asked. He was a big, red haired man.

"Ehm..." While he was thinking very fast, his hands went wet. "Cake", he said.

"Cake?", the policeman asked back.

"Yeah...I bring my grandma a cake. She is ill...she can´t walk so well so I bring her the cake, so she does not have to walk to the store and buy it on her own."

Yeah Jake, he thought, you just need a red hood. But the policeman seemed to believe him.

"Oh, okay, but be careful, it´s dark and you are young." And the policeman went away.

Thanks god, Jake thought, also he didn´t know why he had been so full of sorrow.

Of cause the policeman did not know all the faces of missed kids, plus Jake did nothing illegal, did he?


	20. Chapter 20

_**Thanks to **Donny304 **for reviewing. I don´t know if I would have keep on writing this story if you would not review all the time. **_

**_I still have no Beta Reader but I try to delete every mistake I see, please don´t mind if there are some left. _**

**Chapter 17 **

"I have to tell you something." Peter´s face was an absolute mask when he talked to Jake.

They were sitting in the living room, Jake sat on the couch and had been lost in thoughts until Peter said those words.

Diego sat at the window and watched the rain, like he would not listen.

"Go out of the room, Diego", Peter told the young Mexican and Diego went out, leaving them alone.

Jake was confused and a little bit scared, too. He always hated when someone was so seriously and wanted a talk.

"There was a policeman at the door, earlier the day. When you were on your round", Peter started.

Sighing, Jake closed his eyes, waiting for the next.

"He asked for you."

Jake opened his eyes again, his heart beating fast.

"I won´t you to get any problems", he explained to Peter.

"I do not have any", Peter told him. "But perhaps you have some."

Confused, Jake lifted his head and made an angry noise. "I am fine."

Peter did not answer, what made Jake much angrier.

"I am fine", Jake repeated and stood up. "I don´t wanna have this conversation."

Peter shook his head. "I did not meant to make you angry", he said calmly. "But I am wondering if it is the right thing to keep you here."

Much more confused, Jake opened his mouth, he did not know what he should say.

"You´re sending me away. You do not wanna have me here." Please not, Jake begged silently. Please not again, not like it was at the Bakers.

"No, that is not the point", Peter told him, but Jake did not want to listen. He shook his head in anger and disbelieve, forcing himself to calm down, to keep the tears back. No one wanted him.

"I was just wondering, Jake", Peter explained, "if this is the right way to live for you."

"Of cause it is", Jake answered directly. No question it was, it had to be. How else should he life ?

Suddenly, there was a noise outside, under the window. They both jumped up and Peter whispered to Jake, to went into the kitchen.

Jake raced there without making a noise and found Diego drinking a glass of milk.

"Who´s there?", Peters voice came up to them. Jake knew Peter asked for someone outside.

"What´s wrong?", Diego asked. Jake shook his head seriously to let the other boy know, that he could not speak.

But Diego stood up and went up to the door, next to Peter, watching the dark area.

Jake was not able to see what the others saw, but suddenly, Diego shouted "hey" and ran away, and it seemed like he would follow something.

Jake could not stood still any longer without knowing what was going on and made his way up to Peter, who was still standing in the door.

"What´s wrong?", he asked the man.

"Just a boy, perhaps spying around. I do not know what he heard of from our conversation, so I told Diego to catch him and bring him here." With those words, he sat down on the stairs in front of the house. Jake did the same and they waited, either Jake felt cold after a short time in the cool December night air.

It took a long time, in which neither Jake nor Peter said a word, until two persons entered the front garden.

In the dark, it was not easy to recognize them, but when they came up Jake saw Diego and, what made his heart stop for a moment, the boy he met earlier the day.

Peter stood up and went to talk to the boy, but Jake could not move his legs.

The boy must have followed him or else he wouldn´t have known where they lived. But why?

"He told me he wants to speak with you", Diego said, shaking. It was really cold outside and he wore nothing then a t-shirt which was, and Jake was very confused about this circumstance, wet.

Peter nodded and leaded them into the house. Jake watched the boy with small eyes. He did not trust him and he wanted the boy to see.

The boy´s name was Cameron and he lived on the street owning money with, Jake did not want to think about, having sex with elder man.

Cameron told them and the last customer he visited, punched him bad because of nothing and did not let him go. That was when Jake came to the apartment and said he would come from Peter Winston.

Cameron had already heard about Peter, he knew sometimes he made boys work for him, not work like the man, Cameron was with wanted him to do, no, work like delivering and working for a business.

This moment, Cameron knew that Jake was with Peter, he had to took his choice. He followed Jake to the house and waited, that was what he told, but he was scared that he would be sent away or worse. That was the reason why he did not ring the bell but hide under the window.

And than Diego had followed him, but he felt into a pond, what only could happen to Diego, Jake thought.

That made Peter and Jake think again about the wet boy.  
"Hell Diego, change your clothes", Peter told him and Diego nodded shaking.

"Sometimes he does not think", Peter said when Diego went out of the kitchen. There was a huge silence where Peter watched the boy.

Jake was thinking. He did not like the boy. He remembered well how he had bullied him this day, when Jake had lived on the street. And Jake did not have any sympathy for this boy.

"You can stay here", Peter said.

Shocked Jake lifted his head and opened his mouth in anger, but Peter did not notice.

Cameron smiled happy. "Really?", he asked. He did not seem like a bully anymore. Yeah, Jake thaught, he seems weak. And Jake had to grin self-satisfied. Suddenly Jake hated himself for this.

Hadn´t he been weak before he came here, too?

**Perhaps you could leave a review...**


	21. Filler 3

**_Thanks to _**_Donny304 _**_for reviewing. You said I should write how Jakes decision to run away affected the family. I have already wrote two chapters in which I hope this is shown, but I planned a third one and I don´t mind if it takes place at this point or later, so I write it now._**

**Filler 3 **

"I am not in the mood."

Henry saw his mother rolling her eyes, when Sarah said no to the offer to bake cookies.

While Sarah turned around and went upstairs, Kate let the spoon fall in the sink and sighed. Henry wondered if he should say something, but he decided it would be the best if he just went away.

With one sentence, Sarah had taken his good mood away. He had done a good job in football training this afternoon, the coach had comment his tactic with the best words, either Henry knew most of the time it was just politeness.

With a few steps Herny was out of the house. In the garden, Jessica and Kim put Christmas decoration on the walls of the house with their Dad.

It seemed wrong and suddenly Henry understood what Sarah´s sentence meant.

It was not that she was just not in the mood for baking cookies, she was not in the mood for celebrating Christmas.

No one was. But no one, except for Sarah, wanted to say. Perhaps they wished if they would celebrate Christmas a wonder happened and Jake would suddenly appear in the door.

"Die king Arthur!"

Nigel and Kyle were fighting on the other side of the garden, hide in two big blue jackets. Henry had to smile. The twins sometimes seemed to be the only ones who could forget _it _about several hours, get lost in their fantasy where nothing else mattered as the fight against a horrible dragon or a shoot out in the wild west.

It took a long time to decide if he should talk to one of the others and finally he decided against.

Watching his shoes, Henry walked out of the garden and sat down on the curbside. The wind was cold and Henry cursed himself for going outside without a jacket, but he did not want to stand up and walk into the house for getting one, just to sat down here again. It was senseless.

And then, how else, the one and only question came into his mind again. Why Jake ran away.

It made Henry feel sick, really sick like he was going to puke every moment, to remember the little note, the only thing that gave an explanation, but which did not give a real answer.

He could not imagine, what the hell, ride Jake to believe it would have been the best for them all when he ran away.

It had all come to the worst.

Think for Sarah for example, who was a ticking time bomb, exploding whenever you just say a wrong word. The first days Henry had tried to comfort her, because he knew how much Jake meant to her, but after a while you could not get through her anymore. Sarah had never hold back when she hated the idea of something, but, for everyone´s wonderment, when it came to the question how to celebrate Christmas, she exploded and cried out loud, that she could not believe anybody in this family wanted to celebrate and that it was very cruel. That were her words. Cruel. Cruel to whom? To Jake? No way, he was gone and he would not, wherever he was, care if they celebrate or not. Henry knew, what Sarah meant. It was cruel to everyone else to pretend they were a happy family, either, in the truth they were damaged.

They were damaged, because they could not be the twelve Bakers anymore, without Jake. This was, Henry thought, very ironic, wasn´t it Jake who had once said those words to Mark? Mark, to come to another point, now tried hardly everything to keep the family together, Herny knew he loved them all, but it was sad, because Henry also knew, that it was impossible for Mark to win his fight.

Mark had tried to comfort their mother, but Henry knew this was a fight that could not be won, too.

Being honest, a month before Henry would have given everything if she just would have stopped crying, but nowadays he would give everything he could see one emotion on her face.

"Hey Henry", said a soft voice behind him. Surprised he turned around and saw his older sister Lorraine standing behind him, a smile on her face and it was a real smile, so that Henry could not do anything else as smile back.

"Hey Lorraine", he said when she sat down next to him and gave him a short hug.

They sat there in silence until Lorraine asked _the _question.

"So...how is everybody?"

Henry turned his head away, frowned and looked down the street.

"Nothing new on the western front", he answered, not knowing by himself if this should be a joke.

She did not take it as one.

"Charlie and I will go to Chicago on Saturday."

Henry´s head flew up and he watched her with big eyes. He did not know what to say.

"I´m finished with it", Lorraine sighed, "I am finished with Dad hating himself, I am finished with Mum being so sad and I am totally finished with Charlie who thinks he is the worst big brother in the world because he let him go this day..." There was a small pause in which Lorraine turned her head to watch the garden and if Henry would have been able to see her face he would have seen a smile flew over it. But it was only there for a second.

She turned her head around and watched Henry and asked: "What do you think, shall we go to the shopping centre and buy ice cream and a Christmas present for Mum and Dad and some cookies?"

"I am not in the mood", he answered.

**Please review. **


	22. Chapter 22

_**Thanks to **Microcheese **for reviewing, I hope you like the next chapter, too. **_

_**Thanks to **Sarah27Lautner, **too, your words mean a lot to me. **_

**Chapter 18**

When Jake woke up the next morning, he had to think for a while until he remembered what had happened the night.

With a shock he jumped out of his bed before he could calm down. Diego laid still in his bed, either the sun shined outside, but for Jakes madness, there were a lot of grey clouds covering it.

He put his clothes on and went into the kitchen.

Peter and Cameron sat at the table and ate breakfast, what damaged all of Jakes hopes, that yesterday had been a dream.

But Jake was not in the mood to think about, so he just moaned a good morning and sat down next to Peter, Cameron in front of him.

"I´ve just explained what we´re doing", Peter said. Jake did not know what Peter expected him to do, so he just nodded and filled his glass with orange juice.

Like yesterday, a uncomfortable silence filled the room, until Peter changed the subject.

"Is Diego still asleep?"

Jake nodded.

"Wake him up, please, Jake, okay? I have got something important for him to do."

Giving one last look on his toast, which he just wanted to eat, Jake stood up and went to the room in which Diego was still asleep.

"Diego, come on, Peter wants to see you", he said while he stood in the door and watched the clew of cover under which Diego laid, but Diego did not move.

Jake wondered, normally Diego jumped around this time. He made his way up to him and watched the elder boy, who was still sleeping.

"Come on", Jake said and shook Diego´s shoulder. Diego moved moaning, but he was still asleep. Suddenly Jake frowned. He had noticed something. Confused he felt Diego´s forehead and he had to see his clew was right. Diego was hot, no question he had fever.

Jake bit his lips nervously and went to tell Peter, who was still sitting at the table, reading some papers.

Cameron was washing the dishes and gave Jake a friendly look when he noticed him, but Jake just tried to watch him as hateful as possible.

"Something is wrong with Diego. I think he´s ill", Jake explained.

Peter lifted his head and watched Jake with wide eyes. He stood up and went fast into their room, to look after the young Mexican.

After he was gone, it was not very nice in the kitchen. Jake turned his back to Cameron and tried to focus on Diego, but he couldn´t.

"I know why you hate me."

Cameron´s words came suddenly and Jake´s heart made a jump, but he either turned around nor answer.

"I am sorry Jake. I bullied you very bad, that was not right, but... the people really noticed you. That was not good for both of us."

It took Jake a lot to calm down. He remembered being mixed up, he remembered the bad feeling. Like no one wanted him, not his family, not even the street, thanks to Cameron and his bully friends. It had hurt so much.

Jake took a deep breath and went out of the kitchen.

In the floor he met Peter, who made a worried face.

"What´s wrong?", Jake asked.

"Diego is ill. It´s not so bad but he has got high fever."

Jake watched the floor. Poor Diego. And all because of this guy Cameron.

Peter sighed. "Jake. I need you to do something, but we have to talk about. Let´s go into the living room."

Jake raised an eyebrow and followed.

They sat in front of each other. Nervously Jake whipped with his foot.

"Diego is ill, he can not do his visit. I know today is your free day, Jake, but you have to go."

Jake nodded. "It is okay, I will go. Are there many customers?"

Peter shook his head. "It is not so easy Jake, there is only one, but...I am a little bit worried, you ...normally do not go there..."

Jake did not understand.

"You remember the first day, when Diego showed you everything, Jake? There was someone, a.... like a partner of me...Mr. Thomson."

It was not the name that made it ring in Jakes head it was the mention of the name "partner".

"You mean this guy in the big house?", Jake asked shyly. He became more nervous. He remembered well the talk between Peter and Diego he had listened to, and the things Diego had told him. That this guy was like the one Cameron had been with. Just that he was more mighty.

"I can not loose him as a partner, Jake, you have to bring him a letter and money in a briefcase", Peter explained whispering.

Jake nodded. He remembered that Peter did not know that Jake had listened to the argument between Peter and Diego.

Peter seemed to be nervous, he made his hands to fists and watched Jake with sad eyes.

"You have to listen carefully now, Jake", Peter said. "You have to do exactly what I tell you now."

Jake nodded, but he was not willed to go there. But he had to.

"You go to the house, but you do not ring", Peter explained. "All you will do, Jake, is to throw the letter into the mail slot of the door. Then you come back here. Did you understand?"

Jake nodded. This was not difficult, was it?

**Please review.**


	23. Chapter 23

_**Thanks to** _Donny304 _**for reviewing. Keep on reading, its almost done. **_

_**Yeah, guys, only two chapters left. **_

_**Sorry for every mistake I make. English is not my native language**. **So if you see one anywhere in this strory, tell me and I´ll change it.**_

**Chapter 19 **

Jake froze. If he was honest, he could not say, if it was because of the cold weather of December, if it was really December, Jake could not really tell, or if it was because he was so scared.

_All you will do is to throw the letter into the mail slot of the door. _

Again and again, Jake remembered the sentence, whispering it while he made his way to the big house.

It did not rain, but the sky was cloudy. For his wonderment there were already a lot of Christmas decorations in the windows of the houses. Was it really such a long time ago when he ran away?

Slowly, Jake went to the front door of the huge house and put the letter out of the inner part of his jacket. There came no noise out of the house and so Jake kneed down and threw the letter into the mail slot of the brown door. He sighed happily and stood up, when suddenly the door was opened and Jake saw in the face of Mr. Thomson.

Jake gasped and he could feel his heartbeat everywhere in his body. He took a step backward, trying to say something, when the man grabbed his arm and hold it tightly.

It hurt.

"I wondered when you´ll come here again." His voice was friendly, but his gaze scared Jake to death and he tried to get free, but Mr. Thomson hold his arm too tightly.

"You brought me a letter from Peter?", he asked. "Why won´t you come in? We could talk a little bit."

"No, thanks, I have to go now..." But the man seemed not to care. Ignoring Jake attempts to get free he pushed the boy into the house and closed the door behind.

Jake breathed heavily, tears formed in his eyes. When Mr. Thomson made a step forward, Jake turned around with fear and tried to scream, because that was what he learned when he was younger, but no sound wanted to come from his throat.

"Peter knows I am here." It was only a whisper, but Jake was lucky that he was able to talk again.

"Yes, he sent you here, no question."

Jake recognized that Mr. Thomson´s moustache was gone, when the older one leant over him and smiled. "So you´re here Jake."

Jake bit on his lip. He shook uncontrollable while praying this would end good.

"What´s wrong?", Mr. Thomson asked and blew his breath on Jakes skin. He could smell the alcohol Mr. Thomson had drunk.

Please let me go, he wanted to say put no word came over his lips.

"You know", Mr. Thomson said , " I´ll pay a lot."

Jake was unable to do something, fear had overtook him and did not even manage to cry for help like he learned to do when he was younger.

Tears went threw his eyes and his breath became shorter when the man leant forward to kiss him.

With a scream Jake suddenly went forward and bit the man in his arms.

Mr. Thomson cried out loud. "You fu....", but Jake did not listen. With a heart beating in his throat he sprinted to the door, opened it so that it flew against the wall and ran into the dark night.

---------

He did not knew if someone came behind him, he did not want to know.

All he could think of was his fear and he ran as fast as he could. He neither felt the tears upon his face nor the pain in his wrist where Mr. Thomson had hold him; he just ran.

Without knowing, Jake had ran to Peter´s house and now he broke threw the door, then stopped where he was and tried to breath normal, but he couldn´t because now there were those sobs that went threw his body.

"Jake!" It was Peter. The man hurried up to him and pushed softly Jakes face upward so that he could look in the boys wet eyes.

"Oh god Jake, what did he do to you?"

"He...", Jake tried to explain under his sobs. "He hold me tight, but...I...ran away."

"He did not hurt you, did he?"

"Just my wrist", Jake answered.

Peter seemed to calm down. "Okay", he whispered to himself. Then he leaded Jake through the floor.

"I am so sorry, that wasn´t supposed to happen", Peter explained. Jake was not able to answer.

He tried to calm down, but he was still scared. He wished his mother would be there to hug him.

"Look Jake." Was Peters voice overprotective? "I want you to sit down in your bed and I will make a hot chocolate for you, okay?" Jake nodded, either he did not really understand what the man had said.

Slowly Jake went in the room he shared with Diego, who still laid in his bed with fever, and sat down on his bed, the back against the wall and his legs near his body. He did not even took his shoes off.

He hit his head against the wall for a few times to calm down, then he watched the ceiling.

He did not knew for how long he sat there but suddenly Cameron sat down next to him.

"Here", the other boy said and gave Jake a cup of hot chocolate. Jake took it, but he did not drink. His mother had always made hot chocolate for him when he was a real mess.

A lonely sob escaped his body but he did not recognize.

"You have to drink", Cameron told him. "Then you feel better."

Jake took a bit. There was a big silence while he drank.

"Peter wanted me to look after you, he has some very important work to do....He seems to be very angry with this guy."

Jake did not answer and there was an other big silence.

"Look Jake, what happened between us before we were here..:", Cameron started.

"It´s okay. I don´t mind."

"I am sorry, Jake."

Jake nodded. It was okay. For some reason he was not angry anymore.

There was a huge silence until Cameron asked something.

"Why did you run away?"

Jake shrugged. "I could not stay there any longer", he mumbled.

"Where?"

"Home."

"Did your dad hit you? My ol´man hit me a lot, that´s why I ran ´way", Cameron said.

Jake eyes grew big and he shook his head. "No, my Dad could not hurt a fly."

Cameron nodded and they did not spoke for a while.

Thinking, Jake finished his hot chocolate and buried his head in his arms. Why did he ran away? He knew it hurt to home, it really hurt, but tonight had been so shocking that he did not really knew if he could take it one more day here. He was happy that he could ran away in time, but what happened there; and with this thought, the tears came back; was enough to make him cry badly. One centimetre, Jake thought, and Mr. Thomson´s lips would have touched his.

A sob escaped his body and he wished his mum would be there. She would give him a big hug.

He did not want to live like that anymore. He did not want to have to fear, that one day he would see Mr. Thomson again. He did not want to be a delivery boy anymore, with luggage that, either he did not knew what it really was, had to be hot goods.

"I wanna go home", he whispered.

"Okay", a voice said at the door.

Jake lifted his head and saw Peter Winston standing in the door.

"I really wanna go home."

_Please review, reviews mean a lot to me. _


	24. Chapter 24

_**Thanks to **Donny304 **for reviewing. **_

**_This is the last chapter. I hope you´ll like it._**

**Chapter 20 **

The train stopped. For a moment, Jake wondered what would happen if he would just stay in and travel to a distant place, but then he managed his legs to move and got out.

With a sigh, Jake thought for the good byes he had to say, especially not seeing Diego again would be hard.

It was cold, perhaps tomorrow or a day after it would start to snow. Jake was happy that he had his hat.

When he went down the streets, like it would have been yesterday when he went away, not months. Every now and then, a car passed by and Jake hoped no one would recognizes him.

Peter had seemed happy when Jake had said, that he wanted to go home, but nevertheless he had wanted him to stay for the night. He did not like the idea that Jake travelled once again in the dark.

It took a lot in the morning to go on the train and it had been late afternoon when Jake finally was on his way back to the house of his family. His home, how he now noticed.

Peter´s place hadn´t been bad, it had been a nice place, because people cared about him, but, what Jake now knew, it was no home.

Of course it was Peters home and Jake knew it was Diego´s home, too. And perhaps, one day it could be Cameron´s home, too, but it could never be Jake´s home. A good place for living, yes, but no home.

The last warm rays of sunlight disappeared at the horizon, when Jake made his way home.

He froze. He stopped undecided and watched the white house in front of him.

A lump formed in his throat when he thought for how long he was gone.

If he was honest, he didn´t know. It could have been weeks or month, even years.

Sure that it was Christmas, seeing the red, green and white decoration on each house.

He looked to the ground.

He was a coward, because he came back. He didn´t made what he wanted to reach.

But if he would leave now, he would be much cowardly.

Slowly his look raised up to the house.

His father made sure that the decoration looked wonderful. Charlie had cut the grass and his mother had hang up the self-made angels Jake and his siblings made when they were younger.

"I have been a coward since I ran away", Jake sighed when he made up his way towards the house.

There was no sound around and the windows were dark and empty. Jakes heart sank down in his jeans, while he stood before the frontdoor. He was not brave enough to ring the bell.

He wondered if he had a key with him and searched for it in his bag. And really, it was still there. His heart beat twice as fast as normal when he turned the key around and opened the door.

The hall was empty and dark. It looked like a big hole, silent and dead. Then he recognized, that the light in the kitchen was on and it almost knocked him down, when a voice called:

"Tom, that´s you?"

Jake stopped breathing. It was his mothers voice. He couldn´t believe that it would be so good and so scary at one time to hear it.

He did not respond. He couldn´t. His mouth was dry and there was only his heartbeat. Perhaps they did not want him back, perhaps it would be like it was before.

"Tom?"

He could tell that his mother´s voice was confused. Suddenly someone stepped out of the kitchen onto the floor, it was Nora. She looked like she ever looked. The young woman let out a cry and dropped the bowl she hold in her hands. The glass fragmented on the floor and before Jake knew what happened, he was into a big hug with his eldest sister. Jake did not move. His arms fell next to his body and he was not able to do or say something.

"Nora, you okay?"

There were more voices in the kitchen, scared, but Jake didn´t really notice. It was Nora, who got her speech back and called out for their mother.

Jake did not really hear what Nora said. Like in slow motion, he watched his mother and other persons coming out of the kitchen., they stood for a moment, then they moved forward and his mother hugged him.

They all said something, but Jake did not listen. They were around there, but Jake did not see them. He had closed his eyes and hugged his mother back, inhaling her smell, now recognizing how much he had missed it.

Perhaps they hugged him, too, perhaps they all talked to him, but he did not recognize. He just hugged his mother and suddenly he started to cry.

It was stupid and weak that he cried, but he did not care. He just cared for this moment, where he was able to hug his mother the first time for, god knew how long.

After a while Jake found himself on his mothers lap on the couch, without knowing how he got there. Someone had took off his shoes, but he still wore his jacket.

His Dad had come home, either Jake did not knew when and now he sat in front of them and hold Jakes hand tightly.

Kate kissed his forehead, then she whispered in his ear: "I´ve got you back, I really got you back."

Finally Jake was able to calm down a little bit. He wiped his tears away and looked around. Everyone was there. Nora sat on the couch, too and rubbed his back, Bud stood there, with little Tom on his arms, Charlie and Lorraine stood behind it and smiled at him, Kim and Jessica stood arm in arm watching them, Henry had a big smile on his lips, his arms entangled, Nigel and Kyle were sitting on the floor and watched him with open mouths, Mark watched him lovely, while biting on his lips, Mike stood next to Henry and grinned a very big smile and then there was Sarah.

She was crying and Jake could not tell what the look in her eyes meant. Then, suddenly she climbed on the sofa and hugged him.

"I love you so much Jake", she whispered into his ear. "I really, really love you."

**The End**

_I know it is kind of kitschy, but I think it is okay after everything what happened and such a long time Jake was gone, isn´t it? Tell me what you´re thinking._


End file.
